Report: MLB Offers 76-Game Season to Players Association in Latest Proposal

Major League Baseball and the Players Association are trying to knock out a return-to-play plan to get the season underway by July 10.

Under the gun to get the 2020 season started, Major League Baseball offered its latest proposal to the Players Association on Monday.

According to ESPN’s Karl Ravech, the proposal included 75% of the players prorated salaries, playoff pool money, and a 76-game season that concludes on September 27 with the postseason wrapping up at the end of October. 

According to MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the season would begin July 10 under this 76-game proposal. Any hope of a July 4 start is now completely lost. 

The largest concession in the proposal is MLB writing off draft pick compensation in free agency, which is unpopular among players since it makes teams hesitant to sign top free agents. 

Unfortunately, any hopes around this proposal were short-lived. According to The Athletic's Evan Drellich, the league only guaranteed 75 percent of the prorated salaries as long as the postseason is played. In the event the postseason has to be canceled—which the league fears a second wave of coronavirus in the fall—the league only guarantees 50 percent of the prorated salaries. The proposal is a "step backwards" in the eyes of the MLBPA, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.  

76 games is nearly 47 percent of the standard 162-game MLB season. While MLB removed the sliding pay cuts in its latest proposal, the players seem very disinterested pursuing a proposal laden with a considerable amount of risk. Additionally, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports that the players remain steadfast that they want the full pro rata for the season. 

While this isn't the reaction most fans were wanting to hear, the good news is the two sides are talking and trying to work out a deal before MLB is forced to implement a 48-game season, which is a widely unpopular scenario.

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