MLB and MLBPA Reach Agreement on Service Time, Salaries and 2020 Draft
By Michael Luciano
The coronavirus delaying the start of the season has forced the MLB to jump through some hoops in order to make sure that players are financially taken care of. Luckily, the latest agreement between the league and the players union has answered multiple questions we all had.
The MLB and the Playe's Association unanimously agreed on an agreement that outlines how the draft, service time quirks, and more will be handled in a shortened season. As it pertains to the draft, which is already shortened to five rounds, the league confirmed that draft picks can't be traded, while picks will only get $100,000 of their bonuses, with the remainder coming in 2021 and 2022.
- MLB may run a combine for amateur players in 2020 and 2021
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 27, 2020
- The same bonus rules apply to 2021 draft
- Drug suspensions will be served in 2020, but if there is no season, they won't carry over to 2021
Slot values in the draft will be frozen at 2019 levels for the next two years as opposed to increasing by around three percent.
As for the players on MLB rosters, players’ service time will be pro-rated in the event of a truncated campaign. For example, a player will earn a half-year of service time if they're active for 50 games in a 100-game season. If no season happens at all, service time accrued will be based on the amount of days the player was active in 2019.
Union executive director Tony Clark claims that he is advocating for an expanded roster to make playing a shorter season easier.
Tony Clark said he'll advocate for increased roster size this season to ease the burden of a more crowded schedule. He says MLB is receptive.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) March 27, 2020
It remains to be seen when we'll get baseball back, but it looks like some of the nuts and bolts, behind the scenes stuff has been taken care of.