MLB Players Reject Offer, Only Question Now Is The Number Of Games Manfred Will Impose

Players in Major League Baseball have voted to reject a league offer for a 60 game season, and with it, commissioner Rob Manfred has the power to unilaterally impose a season schedule. The question now is, how long will the schedule be, and can the league get the total number of games in before a potential COVID-19 outbreak closes it down?

According to ESPN, the players voted 33-5 to reject Commissioner Manfred’s offer of a 60 game season, needing only a majority by the executive board of the MLBPA to do so. The board is comprised of 30 player representatives and eight members of a sub-committee. The players had sought a 70 game season and offered up expanding the number of postseason teams from 10 to 16, sponsorship patches on uniforms, and ability to mic-up players to enhance the television broadcast experience. The owners rejected that counteroffer.

Now the question is, how many games will Manfred unilaterally impose on the players? Manfred has that right as part of a March 26 agreement with the players to try and get in a pandemic-shortened season as long as the players receive 100% of pro-rata salaries. It’s unclear whether Manfred will announce the number of games this evening or tomorrow as more than one national baseball writers have conflicting reports. Joel Sherman of the NY Post reports that a meeting between the 30 owners and commissioner Manfred was scheduled for this evening, but the actions on what is decided out of the meeting may not be known immediately.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today has said that Manfred could impose the same 60 games that would start on July 27-29. That 60 game schedule was the same offered the players in the last proposal by the owners, but given how the increased number of cases of COVID-19 have suddenly escalated in locations where games would be held, on top of players and staff within MLB at Florida Spring Training location have tested positive, it’s possible the number could decrease.

Next comes the question of health and safety protocols that loom over the sides. It’s unclear whether certain aspects such as placing a runner on second base in extra innings or allowing for ties could be accepted in an attempt to keep games from dragging on where players and staff could be further exposed to each other, thus raising the risk of an outbreak. Less clear is whether the universal designated-hitter would be used.

Talk of having unique elements such as the universal DH, expanded teams in the postseason, patches on uniforms and mic’d up players were tossed about as items that could take places in not just 2020, but 2021 as the league heads toward negotiations for a new long-term labor deal. The current collective bargaining agreement expires in December of 2021. But with the players rejecting the league offer, and Manfred now imposing the schedule, the items will drop out of the agreement for 2020. Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, it’s unclear whether a new agreement, similar to the one reached in March, would need to be put in place if the novel coronavirus disrupts the 2021 season.

Manfred could implement fewer than 60 games, but it is possible that a lower number of games could play into the hands of the players who could very well file a grievance that could amount to as much as $1 billion, depending on which side were to win through an arbitrator.

Looming over all this is whether a season will actually start and finish? Already there have been 40 players and staff that have tested positive for COVID-19, and with the increase in cases reported in a large number of states where MLB games would be played, the sides may ultimately be going into a season that could be halted.

What’s certain is the entire negotiating process between the owners and players that has stretched out for nearly a month has done damage to the growth of the game. Outspoken pitcher Trevor Bauer may have summed it up best