One week after Major League Baseball team owners submitted an economic plan, the Players Association responded with a counterproposal that addressed salary concerns and the length of a potential 2020 regular season.
As expected, the union is asking that players receive full prorated salaries this year, circling back to a March 26 agreement between both sides. However, team owners claim the deal was only contingent on fans being able to attend games — a prospect that appears unlikely for the time being.
What’s more, the Players Association wants MLB to expand upon their proposed 82-game regular season, seeking something in the 100-to-114 game range.
It then appeared team owners are now preparing to make a counter offer of their own, possibly guaranteeing players a full prorated salary, but for a season that would range from 50 to 60 games.
However, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, a 50-to-60 game regular season is viewed as a worst-case scenario in the event MLB and the Players Association are unable to reach an agreement:
Though MLB does not intend to propose this to the players, the possibility of implementing a schedule of around 50 games that would start in July has been considered by the league as a last resort in the event the parties can’t come to a deal, sources said.
Despite MLB and the Players Association being far apart on a financial agreement, it is clear that both sides want to salvage some form of a 2020 season this summer.
Hoping to finalize something this week, it wouldn’t be surprising if the league and union try to find middle ground by settling on a campaign in the 80-game range.
Both sides have targeted late June and early July as a potential timeframe for Opening Day, so a deal will have to be struck in the coming days for that goal to be met.
A Spring Training 2.0 is also necessary for players to get back to game speed, further emphasizing the urgency and importance of reaching an agreement by the end of the week.
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