If the players and owners are running out of time to restart the baseball season in 2020 in early July, they are sure not to run out of words.
The tense negotiations exploded once more on Wednesday night when veteran Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, a member of the executive subcommittee of the Major League Baseball Players Association, tweeted that the players would not accept salary deductions beyond their salary from the previous diprator.
“After discussing the latest developments with other players, there is no reason to get involved with MLB in further reducing compensation,” Scherzer, winner of the Cy Young Award three times, wrote on Twitter. “We previously negotiated a salary deduction in the medicated salary version, and there is no justification for accepting a second salary deduction based on the latest information received by the union.
“I am happy to hear other players voicing the same viewpoint and believe MLB’s economic strategy will completely change if all documentation is made public information.”
Max ScherzerThe AP
On Tuesday, MLB gave the players a sliding scale proposal where the players making the most money would lose the highest percentage of their salary. The PA did not like the idea at all, and Scherzer stated that the sentiment was quite strong and open. The reply proposal, expected at the end of the week, will display a schedule with more than 100 games, a considerable increase from the owner’s suggestion of 82 games. Many guild members also seemed to agree to postpone the player’s salary.
As Scherzer points out, at the end of March the two parties negotiated an agreement that guaranteed players a lump sum payment of $ 170 million and service time even if the coronavirus pandemic canceled the season – and proportional payments if the beach was opened for a shortened campaign. . The agreement also featured language calling for reconsideration of the players’ salaries if circumstances prevented fan payments from attending the match, as is the case at the moment, and the reconsideration caused this impasse.
Players are reluctant to sign further income cuts without looking substantively at team finances, as Scherzer also referred to; this has been a struggle for as long as the union exists.
To start the season in early July, as is currently the wish, and prepare for spring training for mid-June, players and owners may have to find common ground by the end of next week.
