As Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association continue to negotiate return-to-play proposals, NBC Sports Chicago’s Leila Rahimi is starting to wonder if there will be a 2020 season.
“I wasn’t really concerned until just recently,” Rahimi said on The DA Show. “I think the last proposal is what did it. Whenever there’s an hour ultimatum and the numbers don’t really change a whole lot – I understand the draft pick being a carrot to throw in, but I feel like more concessions could be made. I mentioned easing the luxury tax, for example. I do’t know that that would help a ton, but it would encourage payroll. But the numbers, I just don’t know.”
Both sides have submitted various proposals, with the regular season being anywhere from 76 to 114 games. The owners reportedly considered a 48-game regular season but never officially offered that. They did, however, say Monday that players have until Wednesday to decide whether there will be a season.
“At some point, the 48 hours, that’s where the concern lies,” Rahimi said, “and there is still major issues that the players reportedly have, with a lot of them being on the health side. So I’m still confident, but I’m not as percentage-high [confident] as I once was. I think there’s going to be a season; it’s just a matter of how. I don’t know how you play less than a 48-game season, though.”