MLB Says No Season Unless Union Waives Right To File Grievance

The contentious negotiations between MLB and the players’ union took another twist on Monday when the league said in a letter to the union that there will not be a season unless the union waives its rights to file a grievance against the league, a source familiar with the letter told SBJ.

That news, first reported by the L.A. Times, combined with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred today telling ESPN that he was "not confident" that there would be baseball this year has raised doubts about this season. "I'm not confident," Manfred told ESPN's Mike Greenberg during "The Return of Sports" special on the network. "I think there's real risk, and as long as there's no dialogue, that real risk is going to continue."

The union believes MLB is exercising a delay tactic and essentially trying to run out the clock (or calendar). With MLB adamant that no regular season games will be played later than Sept. 27, the calendar within another week or so will make it logistically impossible to play a regular season more than 50-some games. The union contends that the league will then claim it did everything possible to play as many games as possible, which would be a central argument if the union did ultimately file a grievance.

If Manfred exercises his power to unilaterally mandate a 50-game season and pay players fully prorated salaries, the union could file a grievance seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in lost player wages, claiming that the league did not put forth a "good faith effort" to play as many games as possible. MLB will argue that it has offered the union a series of proposals and counter-proposals.

MLB believes the union's unwillingness to budge from its stance of full prorated player salaries has hindered the pursuit of a return-to-play deal. On Saturday the union all but dared MLB to mandate a 50-game season. MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark issued a statement that said, "It's time to get back to work. Tell us when and where." And MLBPA lead negotiator Bruce Meyer in a four-page letter to MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem, which was obtained by SBJ, said: "Given your continued insistence on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional pay reductions, we assume these negotiations are at an end."

If Manfred mandates the length of the season, the union is expected to oppose an expanded postseason, which would include as many as 16 teams (up from 10) and generate nearly $1B in television revenue for the league. Not playing an expanded postseason could deny the league more than $200 million in revenue.

The union has remained steadfast that players should receive full prorated salaries, with Meyer telling Halem in writing that, "Players remain united in their stance that a day's work is worth a day's pay, particularly in a situation where players and their families are being asked to take on additional burdens and risks."

MLB projects to generate $2.9B in revenue during the 2020 season, if there is one, and contends that it stands to lose an average of $640,000 per game during a shortened season played in empty ballparks.