MLB tells union it is done negotiating
Major League Baseball informed the players union Friday it will not respond to its latest offer to play 70 games during the delayed 2020 season, setting the stage for a 60-game schedule or commissioner Rob Manfred implementing even fewer.
In a statement, the union said: “MLB has informed the Association that it will not respond to our last proposal and will not play more than 60 games. 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.”
The move came one day after the union made a proposal to play 70 games in a season which has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier Friday, the Philadelphia Phillies announced they were closing their training facility in Clearwater, Fla., after five players and three staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
Later, the Toronto Blue Jays announced they were closing their facility in nearby Dunedin, Fla. The Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL also announced they had a coronavirus outbreak at their nearby training camp.
The Houston Astros later announced they had one player test positive at their training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The Milwaukee Brewers have announced no positive tests with any of their players. The New York Post reported all 30 clubs were considering shuttering their training facilities to do a deep cleaning after reports of positive tests.
Arizona and Florida, where the training camps of the 30 clubs are located, have become hotbeds for the spread of coronavirus in recent weeks. The Brewers, who train in Phoenix, plan to resume spring training in Milwaukee at Miller Park if teams are given the goahead for a delayed season.
Fears of a second wave of the virus has been one of the reasons the league insisted on fewer number of games,
the regular season concluding by the end of September. MLB’s latest offer consisted of a 60-game season, which the union countered with 70 games, giving players 10 more games of pro-rated salary.
The union will vote whether to accept the 60-game framework offered by ownership, including expanding playoffs and other financial stipulations, or merely let Manfred set the schedule for 50 to 60 games as allowed by a March agreement between the sides. Implementation allows the possibility for the union to file a grievance claiming MLB did not negotiate in good faith, and also to reject an expanded playoff format.
The difference of 10 games between the sides’ latest proposals left them about $250 million apart in salaries for players, who stuck to their insistence on full pro-rated pay. That worked out to about $8.3 million per team to accept the union’s offer, or half that if they split the difference at 65 games.
But, after Manfred and Clark met face-to-face earlier in the week in Phoenix, owners were under the impression a 60-game schedule had been agreed to in principle. Clark later said that was never the case, and the union responded with its 70with game proposal.
Rather than continue to negotiate, with time running out to start a season around mid-July, MLB opted not to make another counteroffer, leaving players to accept a 60-game slate or force Manfred to implement a season, leaving ill feelings between the sides and likely grievances.