MLB Offers 60-Game Season With Full Salaries To MLBPA

On Monday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that he was not confident in there being a 2020 MLB season. That does not mean that the league and the MLBPA are not continuing discussions in starting the season.

On Tuesday, the two sides met in person for the first time in weeks. It came out Wednesday that the league had offered a 60-game season with full prorated salaries for players. Although initial reports suggested that the two sides had reached an agreement. That was not the case where in reality, the players thought that season was too short.

The MLBPA has been looking for a season somewhere between 70 and 80 games. These talks are a step in the right direction, as this is the first offer where the league offered full prorated salaries. 

In a statement on Wednesday, Manfred commented on his meeting with MLBPA president Tony Clark. “At my request, Tony Clark and I met for several hours yesterday in Phoenix,” Manfred said. “We left that meeting with a jointly developed framework that we agreed could form the basis of an agreement and subject to conversations with our respective constituents. I summarized that framework numerous times in the meeting and sent Tony a written summary today. Consistent with our conversations yesterday, I am encouraging the clubs to move forward and I trust Tony is doing the same.”

In this framework that Manfred mentioned, included the 60-game season and full prorated salaries, but also the use of the designated hitter by National League teams, as well as an expansion of the playoffs from 10 to 16 teams total. Both of those things would be for the next two seasons. 

As the days continue to go by, the fewer and fewer games that will be able to be played this season, but given these recent talks, it appears that the MLBPA and MLB are within the same ballpark.