MLB took a major step toward returning to play yesterday, but for some, the deal between players and owners may be difficult to celebrate given how contentious the process was. On the most recent episode of “SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead,” our Bill King and Eric Prisbell discuss the labor negotiations and how COVID-19 may render the point moot.
On the MLBPA’s argument that MLB used delay tactics to avoid playing more games:
Prisbell: On the union side, from talking to them consistently, those close to the union over the last couple of months, they really believe that MLB enacted delay tactics throughout this process, and specifically they point to that period of time in late May. I think it was roughly May 12 when Major League Baseball floated the idea of a revenue sharing plan that was quickly and expectedly shot down by union chief Tony Clark, who said it was a non-starter because in his eyes, he equates it with a salary cap. Nobody was surprised at that. What was a little surprising, and in the union’s eyes what was very surprising, was that it took another two weeks for Major League Baseball to present a formal proposal on an economic structure.
On whether completion of the 60-game season is likely:
Prisbell: Over the last 48 hours of talking to sources on both sides, there clearly is growing pessimism among those close to the negotiations about whether they will be able to play out a 60-game regular season without interruption. As it was put to me, regardless of how the economic structure worked itself out, ultimately it might be COVID that could wind up taking care of all of this by itself. They are monitoring extremely closely the rise in cases in those key baseball states of Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, where there’s a combined 10 teams. Cases are rising elsewhere. We’ve had multiple teams over the last week report positive tests. They’ve temporarily closed all Spring Training sites. It’s not moving in a good direction, and they’re well aware of that. It will be fascinating over the next 72 hours as players start to inform their clubs about whether or not they’re going to show up or whether they’re going to opt out or whether they have a high-risk family member. … That’s kind of on the next phase of what’s going to play out here.
On how previous negotiations played into this one:
Prisbell: I look back to 2016, when the owners clearly got the best of the players and the union in the CBA negotiations. That sets up what we’ve seen the last couple months. The union was resolute, and they felt they needed a win. They weren’t going to back down. They weren’t going to budge. They were going to stand on principle, and they believed fully prorated salaries was the hill they were going to die on here. They didn’t budge, and I never got the sense they would. It’s a preview of what’s to come as the CBA expires in December of 2021. These are going to be difficult years for baseball, because both sides are dug in. The positions are hardened. There is tension between the two sides that has been a constant between the league and the union. It’s certainly heightened right now, and it’s not going to dissipate.
