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MLBPA 'extremely disappointed' with latest offer from MLB owners

If the MLB players union accepts the owners' latest proposal, stars such as the Yankees' Gerrit Cole would take massive pay cuts. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Players union 'extremely disappointed' with latest offer from MLB owners

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 5/26/20

On the same day NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Return-to-Play proposals agreed upon by the league and the NHL Players' Association for the completion of the 2019-20 season that was suspended on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, it appears MLB and the MLBPA are no closer to a deal to start their season than they were on the morning of May 26.

On Tuesday afternoon, The Athletic's Evan Drellich tweeted that the players were "very disappointed" with the latest economic offer delivered by club owners:

The MLBPA is very disappointed with MLB’s economic proposal today, source tells me and @Ken_Rosenthal, calling additional cuts proposed “massive." League offered to share more playoff revenue, but on balance, those dollars are small compared to what players give up, PA believes.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) May 26, 2020

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal added that this is merely the first step in the latest round of negotiations:

Keep in mind: This is a first proposal with a long week of negotiations likely ahead. https://t.co/zwgdxSqMv9
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 26, 2020

However, Joel Sherman of the New York Post didn't paint as rosy a picture, as he reported that the MLB and MLBPA are "far apart on the health/safety protocols" that must be agreed upon before talks regarding spring training sessions become serious:

The MLBPA says the proposal involves massive additional pay cuts and the union is extremely disappointed. The union also says the sides are far apart on the health/safety protocols
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 26, 2020

Sherman added the union could counter or decide to stand firm and demand owners honor an agreement from March that promised players pro-rated salaries for a pandemic-shortened season:

The union is not commenting on if this is a dead end to negotiations on this concept or if there is room to bargain.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 26, 2020

The union plan is to return to players for their thoughts before deciding whether to negotiate further on this financial concept.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 26, 2020

At present MLB and the MLBPA do not have a time for a next formal negotiation. Informally there continues to be talks on health/safety plus rules (roster size, playoffs, etc). But, of course, there is no return unless they work out the financial component.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 26, 2020

With games likely to be played behind closed doors for the foreseeable future, owners want the players to renegotiate or otherwise void the March deal.

Last week, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman obtained an MLBPA internal memo that suggested owners were using media allies to "railroad" the union into accepting what players would deem an unfair agreement.

Heyman tweeted on Tuesday that stars may earn only 20 percent to 30 percent of their salaries for an 82-game regular season if they agree to the pay reductions currently offered by owners:

Exact percentages in MLB proposal aren’t known, but people involved estimate the best-paid stars — Trout, Cole, Verlander, Scherzer, etc — might make about 20-30 percent of their full salary over 82 games plus postseason. So for Cole, for instance, that’d be not 36M but about 9M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 26, 2020

In short: While hockey fans can dream of a Stanley Cup Playoffs that could begin before mid-July, there is no joy in baseball's Mudville tonight.

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