Major League Balls, the sports world and globe as a whole has been temporarily put on hold amid efforts to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
For MLB, that led to the cancelation of all remaining Spring Training games and a delay to the start of the regular season.
While April 9 was the initial possible target for Opening Day, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has since ruled that out in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommending gatherings of 50 or more people be postponed for the next eight weeks.
With no timetable on when play will resume due to the uncertainties brought by the coronavirus pandemic, questions have begun mounting with regard to the business side of baseball.
Service time is one of the biggest issues at hand as it remains to be seen how many games will be played during the 2020 season. The MLBPA is pushing for players to accumulate as much time as possible regardless of whether the campaign is shortened or cancelled, via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
Still, two people with knowledge of the talks said service time was the most contentious of the issues under discussion, mostly due to differences over how much time players would receive in the worst-case scenario – a canceled season. The union obviously would want the players to collect as much time as possible. The clubs, coming off a season of virtually no revenue, likely would push for relief on a variety of fronts.
The service time dilemma will most affect soon-to-be free agents and those nearing arbitration eligibility. How that issue is resolved over the coming weeks figures to be of interest to the Los Angeles Dodgers and All-Star Mookie Betts.
Betts reportedly turned down multiple contract extension offers from the Boston Red Sox with the intention of reaching the open market this offseason.
With one year remaining on his contract, he was traded to the Dodgers last month — further lengthening what was already one of the deepest lineups in all of baseball.
If the 2020 season is shortened or cancelled, it will be interesting to see if Betts’ free agency gets pushed back by another year.
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