The latest news is that there is no news, unless you count Major League Baseball’s continued defiance of good-faith negotiations as such.
Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported on Friday night that the league has informed the Player’s Association that it will not be issuing a formal response to the Union’s latest proposal, which called for a 70-game season.
Soon after the report, the Player’s Association released the following statement:
“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.”
Consistent with their “tell us when and where” stance, the Union has once again put the onus on the League to determine the next steps. How much more of this back-and-forth will continue remains to be seen, but it appears that we are dangerously close to Rob Manfred unilaterally declaring the particulars of a 2020 season.
Of course, a stark reminder of the risks involved with starting a season was received earlier Friday when it was reported that members of the Phillies, Blue Jays, and Astros tested positive for COVID-19, and other teams were closing their spring training facilities for a deep cleaning.
It will force the League to reevaluate their plans for safely beginning play, even if a resolution to the dispute with the Union is reached.
To the outside observer, the difference between the Union’s proposal to play 70 games and the League’s insistence on no more than 60 seems minuscule. The simple answer is a midpoint of 65, or in that range.
Yet, the continued posturing that has played out through strongly-worded news releases has led to a 10-game difference that feels like 100.
In the end, it wouldn’t be surprising if we end up with more than 100 games shaved off of a normal 162-game season.
Though the League holds the leverage in that it has the right to blow off negotiations and determine the length of the season, the dark cloud hanging over them continues to be the threat of a grievance.
One can only imagine what the outlook of the sport will be after we reach that point.
