Major League Baseball has rejected a counteroffer from the MLB Players Association in regards to a financial agreement for the 2020 season and will not counter moving forward.
The decision comes on the heels of optimistic reports earlier in the week, where MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that the two sides were in agreement on framework for a new deal and teams should “move forward” on preparations for the 2020 season.
https://twitter.com/GregJohnsMLB/status/1273340890086400001
However, the MLBPA quickly announced that no deal had been reached and countered with a 70-game proposal on Thursday. The 10-game difference was broken down by ESPN’s Buster Olney.
The 30 franchises and MLB have a combined value that runs in the neighborhood of $50 billion. And they aren't scraping up another $150 million to at least make an offer into the middle ground and save the product from continued embarrassment.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 19, 2020
That difference is too much for the owners to stomach, which leaves players with a pair of options. They can accept MLB’s 60-game proposal or decline it, force MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to impose a reporting date, and reserve the right to file a grievance for a March agreement, which called for 100 percent of prorated pay for players back in March.
The Major League Baseball Players Association today released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XxRDSskBBT
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) June 19, 2020
In addition to labor issues, MLB also has to deal with COVID-19 issues, which saw five members of the Philadelphia Phillies and several members of their coaching staff test positive earlier this week.
After several other clubs reported positive tests, MLB made the decision to temporarily shut down all 30 spring training facilities for deep cleaning on Friday.
Regardless, the two sides will need to have a resolution soon for a 2020 season and if they can’t things could get ugly by the time fans see teams hit the field heading into the 2021 season.
