Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press
Major League Baseball announced on Monday evening that it plans to begin spring training and the regular 2021 season on time, after the MLB Players Association rejected a proposal to revise the schedule.
“In light of the MLBPA’s rejection of our proposal, and its refusal to counteract our revised offer this afternoon,” the MLB said in a statement. “We are moving forward and instructing our clubs to report on time for the start of spring training and the championship season, subject to an agreement on health and safety protocols.”
Early in the evening, the MLBPA officially rejected the MLB’s proposal to delay the start of the 2021 season and shorten the schedule to 154 games.
“Although players’ salaries were not initially prorated for a regular season of 154 games, the MLB proposal does not offer salary protection or length of service in the event of further delays, interruptions or cancellation of the season,” said the MLBPA.
As of now, spring training is set to begin later this month, with Opening Day scheduled for April 1st:
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Sunday that the proposal submitted by the MLB met resistance “on several fronts”. In particular, some players were concerned that the deal would “give Commissioner Rob Manfred more power than he currently has to cancel games and, consequently, potentially cut players’ pay.”
Players cited how they began to increase their off-season training in preparation for spring training in mid-February as well. To delay the start of the season, it would be necessary to restart the process again.
According to Passan, the MLB appointed health experts to justify the delay in the start of the next campaign. A later date would allow longer releases of the COVID-19 vaccine, thus allowing regions around home cities to better deal with the pandemic.
Along with the disagreement between the two sides, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown reported that some players do not believe that the expansion of the playoffs will be a net benefit because it lowers the entry barrier and takes away some importance from the results of the regular season.
This off-season would apparently provide ammunition for critics of the postseason expansion.
Chicago Cubs (Yu Darvish), Tampa Bay Rays (Blake Snell) and Cleveland (Francisco Lindor) have just negotiated the stars after making the playoffs. The Colorado Rockies too announced Monday they switched Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported on Monday that the MLBPA would likely reject the MLB proposal “and may not even counterattack.” The union may be receptive to the designated universal hitter or expanded playoffs, but consider it too late to change the 2021 schedule.