Perhaps, just perhaps there may be MLB this year

[Brother Buzz]

MLB, MLBPA closer to deal for 2020 season after new proposal, Rob Manfred-Tony Clark meeting, per reports

There appears to be forward momentum in the 2020 season talks

17 June, 2020


Amid a labor standoff that threatens the 2020 Major League Baseball season, which has been put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic, Wednesday saw significant progress toward a potential deal that would clear the way for that 2020 season to begin. Commissioner Rob Manfred met with MLB Players Association head Tony Clark earlier this week, and Manfred released a statement saying the sides had a "jointly developed framework" for a season, and MLB has put a new season proposal on the table.

Some details have started to leak out through media reports. Here are the key takeaways:

Manfred and Clark met face-to-face in Phoenix at Manfred's request.
Owners have reportedly made a new proposal to the players pursuant to that meeting.
In that new proposal owners have reportedly agreed to pay players their prorated salaries, which had been a major sticking point.
Players may have agreed to not file any grievance against MLB, which had been a major sticking point for the other side.
The proposal also reportedly includes an expansion of the playoffs from 10 teams to 16 teams for 2020 and 2021.
MLBPA has stated that no agreement has yet been reached.
After what seemed to be an intractable standoff, Manfred and Clark had a productive face-to-face meeting.

"At my request, Tony Clark and I met for several hours yesterday in Phoenix," Manfred said Wednesday in a statement released by the league. "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."

Following this meeting, MLB presented players with a revised proposal to begin the 2020 season, per multiple reports. According to MLB Network's Jon Heyman, owners in the latest proposal have agreed to pay players their full prorated salaries and asked that the union agrees not to file any grievance in relation to the deal. If the grievance issue has indeed been shelved and owners have indeed agreed to honor the March accord in which players agreed to pro-rate their 2020 salaries based on the number of regular season games played, then those are two major hurdles eliminated. As such, it seems likely that players and owners will arrive at a negotiated agreement to start the 2020 season.

CBS Sports HQ analyst Jim Bowden reports that the league's proposal is for a season of 60-something games. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, meanwhile, says MLB's latest proposed season would start on July 19 or 20.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-mlbpa-closer-to-deal-for-2020-season-after-new-proposal-rob-manfred-tony-clark-meeting-per/