It appears Rob Manfred will end up naming the length and terms of the season. Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

MLB won't counter MLBPA's offer of 70 games

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jun 19, 2020 8:10 PM ET

It appears Major League Baseball owners and the MLB Players Association will enter another weekend without an agreement to start the 2020 regular season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Late Friday afternoon, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported that the league will not counter the rejected offer from the union of 70 games, fully prorated pay and a share of postseason revenue. Instead, owners will discuss their next steps this weekend:

MLB has told Players Association it will not make a counter-offer to union’s 70-game proposal, sources tell me and @EvanDrellich. League talking with owners this weekend to discuss its next options moving forward. Last MLB offer: 60 games. Could try to implement in 50-odd range.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 19, 2020

The MLBPA addressed the matter via an official statement:

The Major League Baseball Players Association today released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XxRDSskBBT
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) June 19, 2020

Earlier this week, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that July 19 could be announced as Opening Day for the pandemic-shortened season if the owners and players came to terms on an agreement before Friday concluded.

Instead, it seems the parties are closer to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred naming the length of a season that could last around 48-54 games (per a March 26 deal that promised the players 100 percent prorated salaries for an abbreviated campaign).

MLB was also in headlines on Friday after the Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants closed spring training facilities due to the uncontrolled virus outbreak.

The Phillies confirmed an outbreak that included at least eight positive tests. One Toronto player showed virus symptoms, while one person who had visited San Francisco's facility "exhibited mild symptoms," per The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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