NEWSLETTER
I’ve been waiting for the moment where the owners, having little leverage this time around, made an offer to adjust the season that actually looked like something the players could accept. At last check, the idea of trying to trade the DH for the expanded postseason was just silly, to say nothing of the risk that owners would want to shrink the season and seek prorated pay again.
To that end, *MAYBE* there’s now a good offer on the table:
MLB on Friday proposed to the union a 154-game schedule with full pay, delayed by a month and extended by a week, sources say. Also, with expanded postseason. Union considering.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 31, 2021
I am in the fool-me-five-times-shame-on-me-four-times zone with all things MLB bargaining, so I just can’t possibly assume this will go well. However … this seems like a really good offer.
The players, for their part, get full pay, even over a shortened season. That’s always been Priority One for them, and understandably so. The owners get a schedule that could include more fan-attended games, and they get expanded postseason (for which I would hope players are also receiving additional compensation). And the fans get a bigger chunk of the season less likely to be delayed/put-at-risk by positive tests, as players and coaches might be able to be vaccinated if the season doesn’t start until May 1. Obviously that, too, is good for the health and safety of the league. People still care about that, right?
More details are coming, I’m sure – and if history is a guide, it’ll be ugly in some way – but in one tweet there, that looks pretty good and reasonable? We’ll see what the deal is with other possible rules changes, obviously, but I have to assume this also includes the universal DH.
UPDATE: Joel Sherman confirms that the universal DH is part of the offer. Also, as expected, the first whiffs on where you might expect pushback, because this is how the cycle goes:
Union has been against approving expanded playoffs because of concerns that if teams feel they could win fewer games and get in, why compete financially for players? Also heard 1 suggest concern over if fewer games (even just 8 fewer) hurt stats/value for 2022 season.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 31, 2021
UPDATE 2: Confirming, thankfully, that the proposed playoff expansion is just 14 teams, not 16:
MLB's proposal calls for a 14-team postseason, two fewer than last year. It also brings the DH to the National League. https://t.co/uJvNS7MtLI
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) January 31, 2021
UPDATE 3: Among the concerns:
Some of union concerns about MLB's proposal:
In eyes of PA, the proposal would give Manfred expanded authority to shut down the season.
Less margin for error in executing schedule.
Trade of expanded playoffs for the universal DH, a swap union doesn't want.
But they are talking.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 31, 2021
You kinda knew there had to be some additional angle built in for MLB here, and it seems to be the expanded ability to cancel, rather than postpone, games. Sadly, with more trust between the sides, you might not be immediately suspicious of such an augmented power. Alas.
UPDATE 4: I have heard a bit more about what is actually in the proposal and what isn’t, and although I can’t go into specifics, I can say this: once again, it’s one of those situations where the initial leak makes the proposal look very promising, positive, and reasonable. But the particulars and some of the nuances on how that “full” pay actually comes (if it comes), how service time can be impacted, etc., as well as some of the other concerns mentioned above, are actually not great for the players, who would be giving up a lot more than is suggested in the initial reporting. Keep in mind, unlike last year, there’s just the standard CBA in place (a CBA that *never* favored the players), and if there are going to be changes desired by the owners, then the players have to agree to it. It feels like, at every turn, where the circumstances require negotiation, the league tries to take way too much for the owners. It’s so short-sighted. Every dang time.
I’m just so tired of this cycle on repeat, going back years, but especially since last summer. Like I said when this first broke: “More details are coming, I’m sure – and if history is a guide, it’ll be ugly in some way.”
