News broke Monday that MLB owners had approved of the league’s proposal for a start to the season in July. The proposal includes an 82 game season with an extended playoff structure, a universal DH, expanded 30-man rosters with a 20-player taxi squad, no fans, and a revenue-sharing system for players and owners splitting it 50-50.
The All-Star game at Dodger Stadium is likely canceled due to the late start of the season which will be a disappointment to many LA fans.
Today the proposal was supposed to be sent to the Players Union to be voted on and it was widely anticipated that the Union would strike it down.
One of the main issues was the economic aspect of the proposal as MLB owners wanted the players to receive a lower pay base on the amount of revenue teams bring in this year, which would be significantly low without the presence of fans. This didn’t sit well with the union as they see this as a way to cap salary for players. Baseball is the only major sport that does not cap how much players can make a year. There also was a previous agreement between the two sides in March that players would receive prorated pay based on the number of games played.
The virtual meeting that took place throughout much of today discussed the important topics of health and safety for players and staff with MLB believing that they could acquire the necessary testing. What they did not cover was any proposal on how to handle players’ salaries.
MLB and the players union talked a lot about the most important issue today — health and safety. There was talk about protocols, logistics and especially testing. There was economic talk as well but no proposal about revenue sharing or salary reductions yet.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 12, 2020
As of right now, talks will have to continue to see if both sides can come to an agreement in which everyone is content with the economic side of the plan. That agreement seems like a longshot as owners feel that they would lose money with no fans in attendance and having to pay prorated salaries. The union is a very powerful association that has yet to back down against the league in any of its past disputes so don’t expect them to now.
For now, the hope of seeing Dodger baseball again is on hold.
