In a move that surprised no one, the MLB Owners denied the 114 game proposal sent by the players that included pro-rated salaries. What may be a bit surprising is that the owners also said that they will not send a counter-offer! This is certainly bad news, and another indicator that a 2020 MLB Season is becoming more and more unlikely.

Rumors have indicated that the owners would prefer a much shorter season that will end around late September as to avoid any possible “second wave” of the coronavirus. This seems logical but may require a season as short as 50 games. In my opinion, there are actually some pros to such a short season (as a one time thing!):

Every team, including the Marlins, Giants, Mariners and Orioles, has a chance to get hot for a few weeks and make the playoffs
The season will hit the ground running and every game will be huge
There will be a higher probability of finishing the season without any player or MLB employee getting infected, causing an early shutdown
If there is a second wave of the coronavirus, it may be avoided

These are advantages for the owners and fans, but do the players care? They would not get paid more for less games, and may not care about the possibility of sneaking into the playoffs as an underdog. Most MLB players are confident and don’t go around thinking that their team has "no chance”… so, perhaps there is little about a shorter season that would appeal to them. This is evidenced by their 114 game proposal — they want to play as many games as possible.

All in all, things do not look good for baseball in 2020…. and keep in mind, even if these two sides do come to an agreement, there are several other hoops to jump through in order to get a season going. I hope I’m wrong, but I believe it will be a long time before we see some meaningful baseball.