Major League Baseball and the player’s union reached an agreement on the 2020 season Thursday night. The owners voted unanimously to ratify the agreement on Friday.
Under the agreement the 2020 season won’t start until there are no more bans on mass gatherings, there are no travel restrictions in the United States and Canada, and medical experts say there would be no risk for players, staff, or fans, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. However, the Commissioner and the Union could still consider playing in empty stadiums and playing at neutral sites.
In addition to the conditions to start the season, the two sides also agreed on service time. Players will receive credit for a full year if a season of any length is played and the will receive the same service time they accrued in 2019 if the season is canceled, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Players on 40-man rosters will be paid a lump sum of $170 million, based on a sliding scale of service time. Teams have promised that their full-time employees will be paid through April 30 with no layoffs.
Both sides also agreed that there will be an amateur draft this summer, however, it will be only five rounds instead of 40. Players signing bonuses will be deferred, paying ten percent now and 45 percent in the following two years.
MLB and the player’s union both want to play as many games as possible. They want to play at least 100 games. Superagent Scott Boras has proposed a full 162-game season and a 144-game season, but that’s unrealistic. The earliest the MLB can start the season will probably be June 1, so we can expect a 100-game season at least.
