Major League Baseball began meeting yesterday with their Players Union to discuss the new proposal that has been approved by the owners and being mulled over by players as the sport attempts to return to action.
During his daily briefing on Tuesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker urged MLB players to take the deal set in front of them.
“I realize the players have the right to haggle over their salaries,” Pritzker began. “But we do live in a moment where the people of Illinois and the United States deserve to get their past time back.”
“If they’re able to come up with safety precautions, as has been suggested by Major League Baseball, I hope that the players will understand that the people of our United States need them to recognize that this an important part of the leisure time that all of us want to have,” Pritzker continued. “We need that back, that normalcy. I hope they’ll be reasonable as they negotiate.”
Items addressed on Tuesday include timing and logistics for a second spring training, potential rule changes, roster sizes, and transaction rules. COVID-19 testing protocols were also discussed, including response procedures in case of positive tests. Money, which is expected to be a major crux in negotiations, was not discussed.
“I must say, I’m disappointed in many ways that players are holding out for these very, very high salaries during a time when I think everybody is sacrificing,” Pritzker finished.
