Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players

Whatever sliver of hope remained that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association might find a way to come together and negotiate a reasonable settlement to their ongoing fight over salary structure appeared to go up in smoke Saturday night after both entities issued nasty statements accusing each other of ruining any chance of a reasonable 2020 season.

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark all but gave up further negotiations and essentially demanded that Rob Manfred tell the players by Monday when and where to report for the severely abridged season the commissioner is expected to unilaterally enact.

MLB countered about three hours later with a scathing response that accused the players of not negotiating in good faith and in the process harming thousands of team and league employees who are suffering due to the lack of an agreement.

All of it made for the ugliest chapter in this ongoing horror story that does not appear destined for a happy (or even satisfactory) ending.

"Since March, the Association has made it clear that our No. 1 focus is playing the fullest season possible, as soon as possible, as safely as possible," Clark wrote in his statement on behalf of the MLBPA. "Players agreed to billions in monetary concessions as a means to that end, and in the face of repeated media leaks and misdirection we made additional proposals to inject new revenues into the industry - proposals that would benefit the owners, players, broadcast partners, and fans alike. It's now become apparent that these efforts have fallen upon deaf ears."

The league and union agreed March 26 that players would be paid a prorated portion of their full 2020 salaries, based on the eventual number of games played this season. The union has steadfastly insisted ever since that agreement is binding and not subject to any changes.

MLB, however, insists the March agreement included a provision allowing the matter of salary payments to be renegotiated if it was determined some or all of the 2020 season could not be played with fans in attendance. With that now all but certain to be the case due to restrictions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, MLB claims it will lose far more revenue than anticipated this year and is asking players to accept further pay cuts.

Over the last several weeks, the two sides have sent each other proposals and counterproposals to address this issue, but no substantive ground has been made. MLB continues to ask for pay cuts beyond the previous prorated salary agreement, with varying proposals for the number of games to be played but essentially the same total amount of money being offered. The MLBPA continues to refuse to discuss anything that does not keep the prorated salary plan in place as originally agreed upon in March.

"The MLBPA understands that the agreement reached on March 26 was premised on the parties' mutual understanding that the players would be paid their full salaries only if play resumed in front of fans, and that another negotiation was to take place if Clubs could not generate the billions of dollars of ticket revenue required to pay players," MLB wrote in Saturday night's response. "The MLBPA's position that players are entitled to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 season played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that Clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season."

Players have been highly skeptical of teams' claims of severe financial loss this year and have requested owners to open their books and prove it. MLB clubs, which as private businesses are not legally required to share their financial statements with players, have refused to make an exception now. Saturday's revelation (in reports by the New York Post and Sports Business Journal) that MLB is about to agree to a new broadcast deal with TBS that will increase the annual rights fee for two Division Series and one League Championship Series by $150 million only added more fuel to the union's argument that the sport isn't suffering nearly as much as owners contend.

Barring a sudden change of heart - or at least a willingness to actually negotiate - it's widely expected Manfred will use his power to unilaterally declare a shortened 2020 season of roughly 50 games. Players would receive their full prorated salaries, but that would only amount to about 33 percent of what they originally expected to make this year.

Though they remain staunchly opposed to that plan, players appear to be conceding they can't do much about it now, though they certainly will remember all of this as they gear up for what figures to be an even larger fight over the future of the sport when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2021 season.

"In recent days, owners have decried the supposed unprofitability of owning a baseball team and the Commissioner has repeatedly threatened to schedule a dramatically shortened season unless players agree to hundreds of millions in further concessions," Clark wrote in Saturday's statement. "Our response has been consistent that such concessions are unwarranted, would be fundamentally unfair to players, and that our sport deserves the fullest 2020 season possible. These remain our positions today, particularly in light of new reports regarding MLB's national television rights - information we requested from the league weeks ago but were never provided.

"As a result, it unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile. It's time to get back to work. Tell us when and where."