By Scott Lauber | Philadelphia Inquirer
For weeks, it seemed as if negotiations between Major League Baseball and the Players Association over the economics of a pandemic-shortened season were operating on separate tracks without regard for the issue that mattered most to the other side.
Now, it appears there might not be further negotiations at all.
Related: Sources: NBA to approve plan for 22-team return with eight regular-season games
MLB rejected the union’s proposal for a 114-game season and full prorated pay for the players and $100 million in deferrals if the postseason is canceled, a source confirmed Wednesday. The owners weren’t expected to go for that, just as the players last week predictably vetoed MLB’s plan for sliding-scale secondary pay cuts in an 82-game schedule.
But the sides haven’t scheduled another round of talks, and MLB reportedly is ready to discuss exercising its authority to unilaterally implement a roughly 50-game season if the union doesn’t relent in its refusal to redraw a March 26 accord in which the players agreed to prorated salaries based on games played, a concept (the union viewed it more as a threat) that was floated Monday night through an ESPN report.
