MLBPA rejects latest MLB offer, will not make counteroffer
98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s ‘100 percent’ guarantee for a 2020 MLB season is more than likely going to come down to his decision alone, as the MLBPA has rejected the MLB’s latest offer and will not make a counteroffer, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The latest offer from baseball, which they told the players was only good through Sunday, always had a slim chance of being accepted. Even with tweaks to the schedule and payouts for players, with this offer featuring a 72-game regular season, and players receiving a guaranteed 70 percent of their prorated 2020 salary. Under this proposal, the players would’ve have also received another 10 percent of their salary (and a $50 million pool to be split among the players), if the season was able to conclude with a postseason.
It’s just the latest chapter of a never-ending saga that has almost guaranteed that MLB will not be the first ‘big four’ North American sports league to return from the COVID-19 pandemic that’s paused the entire sporting world since mid-March.
The MLBPA’s decision to not come back with a counteroffer is telling, too, as this may finally force Manfred to implement a season length of his choosing, likely in the 50-game range. If Manfred does that, the 2020 MLB season is unlikely to feature an expanded playoff format (something that’s been heavily rumored throughout these negotiations), as there will not be a vote of any sort.
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