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At the beginning of the week it appeared Major League Baseball and the Players Association made progress toward reaching an agreement for the 2020 regular season.
However, much like with the March 26 deal, the two sides came away with different interpretations of commissioner Rob Manfred meeting with union executive director Tony Clark. MLB team owners believed there was an understanding for a 60-game season, while the MLBPA viewed that as a stepping stone to further negotiation.
As such, they presented MLB with a proposal that encompassed a 70-game season at full prorated salaries. It reportedly surprised and angered owners, who decided against submitting a counteroffer.
“MLB has informed the Association that it will not respond to our last proposal and will not play more than 60 games,” Clark said in a statement Friday. “Our Executive Board will convene in the near future to determine next steps. Importantly, players remain committed to getting back to work as soon as possible.”
That has left the union with a decision for the next course of action, which was scheduled to be a vote on MLB’s proposal, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
The #MLBPA executive board, consisting of an 8-member subcommittee and 30 team representatives, are meeting today but there will be no vote taken on the #MLB 60-game proposal. That vote will likely be Sunday.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 20, 2020
The MLBPA aren’t expected to approve the 60-game season, with only Daniel Murphy considered the lone possible member of the subcommittee who would vote yes, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network:
Early word: 8-man union Executive Subcommittee may be near unanimous for rejecting MLB’s 60-game framework/proposal and instead letting commish set schedule. May be 7-1 for no w/Daniel Murphy seen as possible dissenter. Unpredictable but rank/file may also lean opposed to MLB 60.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 20, 2020
While that may ultimately hold true, the union has elected to delay their vote:
The players will delay taking a vote on #MLB’s 60-game proposal for several days while gathering information on the safety and health protocols in light of all spring training camps being shut down because of the rash of COVID-19 positive tests.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 20, 2020
Assuming the Players Association votes against the latest proposal they received, it figures to lead to Manfred imposing a season. However, he is believed to be hesitant to do so for fear of a grievance being filed.
Furthermore, MLB reportedly prefers to first agree on health and safety protocols with the MLBPA prior to Manfred setting a schedule. If or when he heads down that path, it likely will cost MLB the chance at an expanded postseason for 2020 and 2021.
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