While the NBA is basically set to restart its season in Orlando, Major League Baseball and the MLBPA remain in a frustrating financial stalemate that has the season in doubt.
But, briefly, there was hope on Wednesday. And I mean briefly.
Following reports that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred held a face-to-face meeting with MLBPA head Tony Clark in Arizona, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted that the two sides were finally closing in on an agreement to start the season. According to Heyman, the owners agreed to to the players’ demands for a full prorated salary — though the number of games were unclear. There would also be an expanded postseason.
It seemed like great news.
But shortly after Heyman posted his report, other members of the baseball media shared updates that conflicted with the immediate optimism of Heyman’s report. Basically, the MLBPA had just received a proposal. The two sides were not close to a deal.
MLB players were also confused by Heyman’s reporting as several tweeted that they hadn’t seen any proposal from the owners.
Yet, Heyman’s report did more than enough to get the hopes up of baseball fans across the internet.
The reporting from Jeff Passan and others, though, eventually led to the MLBPA putting out a statement to confirm that no agreement had been reached.
Despite the statement, Heyman still claimed that a deal was at hand.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the league’s proposal will look awfully like what Red pitcher Trevor Bauer expected: a 60-game season.
It remains to be seen if the MLBPA will agree with those terms. So, despite that wild 30 minutes on Twitter, baseball isn’t back yet.
