MLB Owners Counter With a Very Short Season Proposal

The contentious labor dispute between MLB and the Players Union took a small step forward today as the owners respond to the union’s offer. The MLBPA had been looking for a 114-game season with deferred salaries, and the owners have turned that down.

The good news is that the owners in MLB are willing to pay a full prorated share of the player’s salaries. The bad news is that the season will likely be much shorter than the anticipated 80-100 game prediction.

Major League Baseball intends to propose a shorter season in which they would pay players a full prorated share of their salaries, sources told ESPN. The league believes the late March agreement allows it to set the schedule, and that this would fulfill players’ pro rata desire.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 1, 2020

The latest update by Jeff Passan and ESPN suggests that ownership is looking in the ballpark of 50 to 60 games for a season. That would be a far cry from the regular 162-game season, not to mention the 114 games that the players proposed on Sunday. The good news is that MLB and the Union will still likely go back and forth over the next couple of days to get a solid number. 

While the hope is that the players will fight for more games, this is actually a big step forward in playing baseball in 2020. Without this latest news, it was looking like the entire season was close to being cut. 

MLB would look to get games going by July with this agreement, depending on what the union comes back with. 

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