Report: Umpires Give MLB Hold Letter over Wage Cuts During COVID-19 Stoppage

Major League Baseball's umpires are debating the acceptance of a league proposal to reduce their salaries should the season be condensed or canceled, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, who noted the umpire's union voted Thursday to send a "hold letter" to the league in response to its "best and final offer."

The letter affords the union more time to deliberate the offer while putting off filing a grievance over MLB's withholding of May salaries. 

Rosenthal reports the league's "best" offer included decreased salaries for both the regular season and playoffs as well as a cut to umpires' per diem, with the union split on whether to accept.

 He further summarized:

"Including payroll and most benefits, the 76 full-time umpires were scheduled to collect approximately $37.6 million in 2020, a fraction of the more than $4 billion the players would receive solely in salaries, sources say. The league's position is that players and umpires must share in the losses the $10.7 billion industry is incurring.

The umpires do not dispute that point, and offered to accept a 20 percent reduction in total compensation, sources said. But like the players, they are resistant to cuts they perceive to be disproportional."

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the league's proposal amounts to a 35 percent pay cut for the umpires. 

The worst-case scenario for the union during its negotiations would be MLB invoking its force majeure clause, temporarily freeing the league of fulfilling umpire contracts. Umpires also fear the loss of health benefits, which would set up a costly legal battle during which umpires would be unemployed. 

The union weighed those potential outcomes during an eight-hour Zoom call Wednesday night that resulted in the hold letter. 

As Rosenthal notes, many fans have a negative view of the game's rule-keepers, and the union fears a further downturn of public opinion—as robot umpires loom. 

The only thing the union has been able to agree on is that it needs more time to reach a consensus.