Major League Baseball owners have given Commissioner Rob Manfred the power to implement a 2020 season after attempted to reach a deal with the MLB Players Association have failed.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports the league has asked the union to respond by 4 p.m. central time Tuesday on the issue of starting spring training on July 1 and approving a health and safety plan that will help guide the league through the pandemic for the season and postseason.
Source: Owners plan to implement 60-game season once union responds to two questions posed in statement. https://t.co/6Erj1jLpfK
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 23, 2020
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports the season Manfred may implement will have a 60-game season that will start July 24.
Based on conversations with a number of players, there is a strong expectation the MLBPA will vote yes on MLB’s proposed July 1 report date, codify the health-and-safety protocol (with some slight tweaks) and lock in a 60-game season that begins around July 24, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 23, 2020
Original Post:
The Major League Baseball Players Association has voted against the latest proposal by MLB owners for an agreement to start the 2020 season.
The MLBPA voted 33-5 against the owners’ 60-game proposal, Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported late Monday afternoon.
The next step may involve whether 23 of the 30 MLB owners would agree to unilaterally make a 2020 season happen, according to Rogers.
Other concerns now have come due to a spike in coronavirus cases around baseball.
The Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays closed their training sites in Florida. Similarly, the San Francisco Giants closed the doors to its facility in Arizona following positive tests for COVID-19 or symptoms that could indicate the disease.
The Phillies said five players were among eight individuals who had tested positive.
The Texas Rangers also shut down its camp in Arizona, saying no players or staff had tested positive but that it wanted to expand its testing protocols.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.