New MLB Rumors on 2028 Olympics Talks Between Players, Owners Ahead of LA Games

MLB players hoping to participate in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are reportedly facing some uncertainty before taking their game to the international level.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, while MLB "has gathered support from owners to allow big league players to participate in the Olympics for the first time," sources said there have been "disagreements with the MLB Players Association over hotel rooms, tickets and a mandatory-participation agreement [that] have complicated their involvement in the 2028 Los Angeles Games."

After being excluded from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, baseball and softball were added back to the lineup for 2028. Six national teams will qualify for the baseball tournament, with the United States, the Dominican Republic and 2026 World Baseball Classic champion Venezuela already earning bids.

Passan explained that the MLBPA is "seeking a deal similar to what the International Olympic Committee struck with the National Hockey League and NHLPA that brought professional hockey players back to the Milano-Cortina Games in 2026 after a 12-year absence." The league submitted a proposal that raised a slew of potential complications regarding "hotel rooms, tickets, insurance, NIL rights and the mandatory-participation agreement proposed by the league that would place players who run afoul of requirements on the restricted list, without pay or service time, from July 12 to Aug. 3."

Sources told Passan that the MLBPA has not responded with its own proposal to address participation. Passan added that a June 26 email from Ian Penny, a top lawyer and special advisor at the MLBPA, asserted that "the MLBPA is seeking fair treatment for its members in consideration for the substantial financial value they would bring to LA28."

Following the success of the World Baseball Classic earlier this year, it's clear that both the league and the players have the same desire to help the game grow on the international level.

"It's such a great opportunity for all athletes to come together in all different walks of life, all different cultures. I love it," Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper, a longtime advocate of major leaguers in the Olympics, said, per Passan. "I think it'd be great. I hope it works out. I grew up watching the Summer Olympics. I was in one of the greatest eras of Olympics of all time. Michael Phelps -- are you kidding me? There was nothing like it. Our women's team swim team was incredible. Gymnastics floor. It's everything. You got it all."