Marlins open ballpark for individual workouts as MLB, players reopen talks for 2020 season
There are baseball activities going on at Marlins Park. There might be live games there sooner rather than later, too.
MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred met in Phoenix over the past two days and a new offer was sent to the MLBPA on Wednesday. While no formal agreement is in place according to the MLBPA, the current proposal includes full prorated salaries for the players over a 60-game regular season and a playoff field that expands to 16 teams from the normal 10, according to The Athletic.
“At my request, Tony Clark and I met for several hours [Tuesday] in Phoenix,” Manfred said in a statement released Wednesday. “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 [Wednesday]. Consistent with our conversations [Tuesday], I am encouraging the Clubs to move forward and I trust Tony is doing the same.”
Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins on Tuesday opened their home ballpark to players on the 40-man roster for individual workouts, similar to what they have been doing at their spring training complex in Jupiter for the past month. Workouts at Marlins Park are limited to a couple days a week. Among those in attendance on Tuesday: shortstop Miguel Rojas, pitcher Sterling Sharp and CEO/part owner Derek Jeter.
The restrictions at Marlins Park are the same as the ones at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium Complex in Jupiter, which also remains open for Marlins players. Screening before entering the stadium. No group activities. Work is limited to batting cages and the fields.
Overall, it provides another venue for players to get their workouts in as they continue to wait for a decision to be made about the 2020 season that has been on standby for more than three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The league and the MLBPA had been at a standstill on their negotiations until Wednesday’s breakthrough. Nothing is set in stone, but the fact that the lines of communication have been reopened is a step in the right direction.
The players have been adamant they want to play as many games as possible for full prorated salaries, which they agreed to in a March 26 deal with the league. League owners have wanted to limit the number of games and keep the postseason in October because of network contracts and a fear of a second wave of the coronavirus (and the desire to keep their revenue losses to a minimum).
The league has also contended that the March agreement calls for re-negotiation of salaries if games are to be played without fans.
In addition to economic agreements — including player salaries and length of season, the latter of which is guaranteed to get shorter with each passing day — the two sides still need to finalize specifics on health and safety protocols as they continue to navigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which initially put the sport on hold March 12.
After the MLBPA rejected the league’s most recent proposal — an offer of 72 games with players making up to 83 percent of their prorated salaries (only 70 percent if the postseason wasn’t played) — Clark released a statement that “it unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile” considering all three of the league’s official proposals provided players essentially the same financial offer in different permutations.
“It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where,” the statement concluded.
Manfred, who under the March 26 deal has the power to set the league’s 2020 schedule “using best efforts to play as many games as possible, while taking into account player safety and health, rescheduling needs, competitive considerations, stadium availability, and the economic feasibility of various alternatives,” said in an interview Monday with ESPN that “there’s real risk” of the 2020 season being shelved.
Players, including Rojas, called out Manfred for stalling.
Now, it the two sides are talking again, and baseball might be on the horizon.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 11:14 AM.
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