After a two-week wait for a financial plan from Major League Baseball team owners, the Players Association immediately made it clear they were disappointed by the economic plan that was presented.
While owners abandoned a 50-50 revenue split — which the union maintained would be a non-starter — they presented players with a proposal that called for a sliding scale of salary cuts. Those making the most salary faced the largest cut in order to preserve much of the rank and file.
The MLBPA has yet to respond to the proposal, which it received Tuesday. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, an memo sent to players explained the union’s stance and view:
In an memo to players today, the MLBPA said it is weighing the timing and substance of a potential response to MLB’s proposal that “sought additional paycuts of more than $800M that it contends are necessary to make it economically feasible to play games without fans.” 1/2
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 29, 2020
The MLBPA’s memo to players also states, “Importantly, the union still awaits key documents from MLB that would support the dubious financial distress claims the league has made in its attempt to force the additional givebacks from players.” 2/2
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 29, 2020
Owners have claimed an agreement reached with players on March 26 is no longer void because of language that allowed for the possibility of new negotiations in the event the sport faced an unexpected challenge. Their argument is predicated on fans not being permitted to attend games — at least at the outset of a potential 2020 season.
Thus, owners assert they would lose more money by paying prorated salaries for games without fans as opposed to if the entire season was cancelled. Under that scenario, the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly would face $232 million in losses — second only to the New York Yankees ($312 million).
Players have expressed skepticism over owners’ claims and remained staunch in their stance and desire for the agreed-upon prorated salaries. As the two sides remain at odds, a soft deadline of sorts in early June complicates matters.
The hope has been for Spring Training 2.0 to begin by the middle of next month, with games held in July.
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