MLB and MLBPA Reach Agreement on 2020 Season
By Mark Powell
UPDATE:
It's officially official!
The deal is done between MLbPa and Mlb on health and safety protocols. Game on
— Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) June 24, 2020
Is...is it real this time?
We almost feel as though we're jinxing it, but per most reasonable insiders, the players have agreed to a 60-game MLB season played in 66 days, which is set to begin on July 24. Players will report to camps on July 1, and we'll officially be set.
All that remains is for the MLBPA to agree to health and safety protocols and potential rule changes.
The Major League Baseball Players Association has agreed to report to training camps by July 1 and play a 60-game season, sources tell ESPN, but deal is not finalized yet.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 23, 2020
One last health-and-safety hurdle to get over and Major League Baseball will be back a week from tomorrow.
Because no settlement was reached in the four weeks of negotiations, the players will receive their full prorated salaries, as previously agreed upon.
At this point, the only news that could derail the season would be an increase in COVID-19 cases nationwide. Should that occur, playing baseball will be the least of our concerns.
So we gave up shares of playoff money, eliminating the qualifying offer for 2021, paycheck advance forgiveness, Covid 19 protections, and protection for non guaranteed arb contracts for next year in order to hold on to our right to file a grievance...??
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) June 23, 2020
The owners' failure to bend early, combined with the stubborn nature of the MLBPA, made for a painful process of bargaining over several billion dollars while the country as a whole was struggling through a pandemic. It was a bad look for the sport, but hopefully one that can be mitigated by a few months of pure, unadulterated fun.
Baseball is back, and it feels good to say.