Rob Manfred guarantees a 2020 season. Unfortunately, he knows what that might look like
The 30 teams owners are in agreement that there will be a 2020 MLB season, with commissioner Rob Manfred guaranteeing as much Wednesday night before the first round of the annual June draft.
He and the owners even know one version of what the season would look like.
First, though, Manfred pledged that the MLB Players Association will receive a counter-proposal that aims to have a longer season than the 48-game season he can guarantee.
The players’ latest proposal was for an 89-game schedule at their full pro-rated salary, which they are owed as part of a March 26 agreement. The owners, though, believe they can pay less because there will be no fans in the stands.
The March agreement also gives the commissioner the power to stage a season “in good faith.” The players do not believe a 48-game season would be in good faith.
“It will be a proposal that moves in the players’ direction in terms of the salary issue,” Manfred said on MLB Network. “We’re hoping it’s a proposal that will elicit reciprocal movement from the players’ side, that they’ll get off the 100% salary demand and recognize that 89 games in this point of the calendar and in a pandemic is just not realistic.
“I remain committed to the idea that the best thing for our sport is to reach a negotiated agreement with the MLBPA that plays as many games as possible for our fans. We do have rights under the March 26 agreement, and there could come a point in time where we exercise those rights.”
A negotiated season would prevent the players from filing a grievance that the owners violated the good-faith agreement regarding season length. The players would likely not agree to an two-year expansion of the postseason and the potential for more TV revenue for clubs should Manfred impose a 48-game schedule.
The initial hope for the 2020 season, once negotiations started, was for teams to begin spring training this week with Opening Day to fall during the Fourth of July weekend. The earliest a negotiated season could begin now is mid-July, and a 48-game schedule likely wouldn’t begin until late July or Aug. 1.
