According to Jesse Rogers and Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Major League Baseball Players’ Association has rejected MLB’s latest, and possibly final proposal, voting the deal down 33-5, and leaving a potential 2020 season in flux.
The league’s offer included a 60-game regular season that would start by July 20 and end on September 27, fully prorated salaries for players, as well as a $25 million player pool if the postseason were played to completion, and expanded postseason — 10 to 16 teams — and the adoption of the universal designated hitter through 2021.
On Monday afternoon, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reported that if fewer than 50 games were played in 2020, expanded playoffs and the universal DH would not carry over to 2021. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic added that “both sides can agree to eliminate [both facets] for 2021 [on Monday]”.
The MLBPA released a statement of their own following the vote, in its entirety:
The MLBPA Executive Board met multiple times in recent days to assess the status of our efforts to resume the 2020 season.
Earlier this evening, the full Board reaffirmed the players’ eagerness to return to work as soon and as safely as possible. To that end, we anticipate finalizing a comprehensive set of health and safety protocols with Major League Baseball in the coming days, and we await word on the league on the resumption of spring training camps and a proposed 2020 schedule.
While we had hoped to reach a revised back to work agreement with the league, the Players remain fully committed to proceeding under our current agreement and getting back on the field for the fans, for the game, and for each other.
As always, we’ll keep you updated as this story develops.
