MLB, union achieve 'framework' of deal

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and players association executive director Tony Clark have "jointly developed framework for a 2020" season, just days after it appeared the season was in serious jeopardy.

Manfred and Clark met in Arizona privately this week, per Manfred's request, marking the first time the two sides had actual negotiations since June 7.

As a result of those meetings, the league has sent a new proposal for starting the 2020 season, per Jeff Passan. That offer is for full prorated salaries over a 60-game season, and would include expanded playoffs.

While there were rumors an agreement had been reached, the MLBPA has denied those reports. The players association likely will counter with a few more games played, but this signals the two are coming closer to an agreement.

In a released statement, Manfred said he and Clark "jointly developed framework" that could be used as the basis for the season.

“At my request, Tony Clark and I met for several hours yesterday in Phoenix," Manfred said in the statement. "We left that meeting with a jointly developed framework that we agreed could form the basis of an agreement and subject to conversations with our respective constituents. I summarized that framework numerous times in the meeting and sent Tony a written summary today.

"Consistent with our conversations yesterday, I am encouraging the Clubs to move forward and I trust Tony is doing the same.”

Clark and the union have stressed that a deal has not been reached and there is still work to be done.

On Monday, Manfred said he was "not confident" there would be a season after the union sent a letter to the league saying they were done negotiating. Instead, the league should tell them "when and where" they should report, as Manfred has the power to mandate a season under the March agreement.

It was believed that season would be about 50 games, if not a little shorter.

If Manfred did that, the union would have then filed a billion-dollar grievance against the league for failing to uphold its end of the March agreement to play as many games as possible. Owners do not want the season to extend into November, even though the March agreement says they can, in fear that a second wave of COVID-19 could cancel the postseason.

The union released a statement from Clark Monday night saying they were "disgusted" by Manfred's comments to ESPN after guaranteeing there would be a season on June 10. Manfred reached out to Clark shortly after, and the two began their private meeting Tuesday.

Here are the details of MLB's latest proposal, plus some points that still need to be worked out:

• Players will receive their full prorated salaries. This has been the key point of these negotiations, as players have expressed throughout that they were not willing to take another pay cut. In March, both sides agreed to pay the players pro rata, but there was a clause to renegotiate if it became clear that fans would not be able to attend games.

In its most recent offer to the players last week, the league offered players a potential 83 percent of their prorated deals, assuming there is a postseason. If there isn't one, it would be 70 percent. This is a significant increase in the amount of guaranteed money the league has offered, with every other proposal failing to offer more money than the players would receive under full pro rata in a 50-game season.

Before Manfred's comments Monday, the players assumed that was the floor for the season.

• The players would lose the right to file their grievance against the league. Having a billion-dollar grievance could have been catastrophic for the league, even if they won the case, since the current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire after the 2021 season. Having that looming over the discussions could have made what is expected to be contentious negotiations even worse.

• The playoffs would be expanded for the next two seasons, and with this agreement in place, it seems possible that this could extend into the new CBA. The union and league have discussed proposals for 14 or 16 teams to make the postseason, and this offer is for the latter. Both sides were receptive of adding playoff teams throughout the negotiation process.

Expanded playoffs would greatly increase the league's broadcast revenue and would help offset the cost of paying players their full prorated salaries. The league recently agreed to a billion-dollar extension with Turner Sports to broadcast playoff games, starting in 2022. Using that as a baseline, it is reasonable to assume expanded playoffs the next two years will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars into the league.

• The season would be 60 games, and it would begin either July 19 or 20 and end around Sept. 27. The second spring training is going to be three weeks long, meaning camp would have to resume before the end of June to reach those goals.

Using the dates July 19 and Sept. 27, that means the season would be around 70 days long. If the players want to counter, they do not have much wiggle room to counter with more games. If both sides agree to a season that is at least 65 games, that would mean players would receive 40 percent of their original salaries.

• The National League would adopt the designated hitter. This has been a part of other proposals, and it would likely be included in the next CBA, so it looks like pitchers are done hitting.

• The two sides have not yet agreed to a health protocols for the 2020 season, though it was believed they were close before the union cut off talks on Saturday. With COVID-19 cases rising in states like Florida, Arizona and Texas, this will still be a key point of discussion.