As Major League Baseball and the Players Association continued to exchange proposals over the past few weeks, what the two sides are prioritizing in negotiations became abundantly clear.
The union has remained firm in their demand for full prorated salaries — as agreed to on March 26. Team owners have generally shown an unwillingness to move forward with such a structure for any season more than 60 games.
All the while MLB has sought to get the union to agree to an expanded postseason as part of a plan for 2020 and in some instances next season as well. They also have floated the idea of implementing a designated hitter in the National League.
According to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, the latest proposal MLB presented after commissioner Rob Manfred met with MLBPA executive director Tony Clark outlined an expanded postseason of 16 teams:
Baseball’s postseason would expand from 10 teams to 16 this year, and the two wild card games would transform into an eight-team wild-card round with eight best-of-three series
The offer also included a universal DH for the next two seasons:
The designated hitter would expand to all games for the first time, also involving games between National League teams, for 2020 and 2021.
By expanding the postseason field and converting the Wild Card round to a best-of-three series, MLB would be in position to sell additional playoff TV rights. That revenue would help the league offset losses from playing games without any fans — or only with a reduced capacity.
As it stands, MLB and Turner Sports reportedly are nearing an agreement on a $1 billion contract extension to keep postseason games on TBS.
If the NL adopts a DH for this season and next, it effectively would be the foundation for a permanent switch. The current collective bargaining agreement is due to expire after the 2021 season, and most anticipated the NL would adopt a designated hitter at that point.
Of course, with how contentious negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA have been, it would be premature to consider any changes a foregone conclusion.
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