Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Monday, bloody Monday.
The Players Association fired back at the owners on a day of chaos around Major League Baseball following Rob Manfred publicly saying he no longer has confidence that there will be a season this year.
After the commissioner told ESPN that the lack of discussion with the union is jeopardizing the season — a season he last week said “100 percent” is going to happen — the union released a statement saying its players are “disgusted.”
“[Manfred] has decided to go back on his word and is now threatening to cancel the entire season,” the Players Association said. “Any implication that the Players Association has somehow delayed progress on health and safety protocols is completely false, as Rob has recently acknowledged the parties are ‘very, very close.’”
The two sides have gone back and forth without much progress being made, the owners wanting money chopped off the prorated deals, the players feeling they already had agreed upon prorated deals in March (and thus proposed a lengthier season). Both sides have been plotting grievances; the owners feeling the players have not honored the March pact by refusing to renegotiate contracts for a season without fans, the players feeling the owners are not arguing in good faith, wanting to squeeze in a quick season while leaving games off the schedule.
In that vein, the commissioner’s office reportedly told the union Monday it will not proceed with a schedule — it has the right to force in a 50-ish-game season as long as contracts are prorated — unless the union promises not to file grievance.
The union is furious, and baseball is teetering on the brink.
“This latest threat is just one more indication that Major League Baseball has been negotiating in bad faith since the beginning,” the Players Association’s statement said. “This has always been about extracting additional pay cuts from Players and this is just another day and another bad faith tactic in their ongoing campaign.”