The expectation around baseball circles is that Major League Baseball and its players will have to come to terms on a deal within the next week in order for the 2020 season to start at some point in July.
What are the latest updates on the 2020 MLB season?
We’ve seen MLB and its players exchange offers throughout the past several weeks as the two sides attempt to bridge the financial divide. It has not gone swimmingly.
MLBPA has pushed back against its players taking part in some sort of revenue share in addition to having them play under prorated salaries. Some players are more than okay with the season being canceled altogether. On the other side, owners have proposed a drastically shortened season and are also seemingly fine with America missing out on its pastime in 2020.
Now comes this note from Jon Heyman of MLB Network indicating that the owners are set to make a counter proposal on Friday.
It’s not yet known what the proposal might entail and whether it will narrow the gap between the two sides. But as Heyman notes, something has to be agreed to over the next several days in order for the season not to be shortened any further.
How has COVID-19 impacted MLB?
This is a huge point of contention. Major League Baseball claims it will take revenue losses in the multiples of billions should the season be played without fans in attendance. The union has pushed back against that, demanding to see the league’s financial records.
As of right now, there’s no legitimate reason to believe that fans will be in attendance this season. That’s magnified by the fact that nearly two dozen states are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases as the United States economy opens up.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who is confident the season will be played, has the right to order players back on to the diamond. It’s something he has reportedly threatened to do. Though, that would cause even further issues between the league and its players.