Nolan Arenado Says Blake Snell 'Made a Lot of Good Points' Against MLB Proposal

Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado backed Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell's critical comments regarding MLB's proposal to the MLBPA regarding a return to play with the season delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arenado spoke with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic exclusively on the matter:

"I think he was being honest, just being real. He made a lot of good points. There are some points he made that were true, that are facts. A lot of it gets misperceived. Trying to get the public to understand us, it's not going to work very well in our favor.

"We're baseball players, right? We make great money. Regardless if we don't make the money we want, we're still making great money. A lot of people in this world are struggling a lot harder than us. Some people might see him as a complainer. Some people might agree with his views. At the end of the day, he made some points I agree with. But he also made some points where it's just going to be too hard to get everyone on our side.

"I guarantee if you read the comments, you're probably thinking, 'You don't have to work 12 hours a day. You're not the one without a job. You're still getting paid.' Those people have a right to say that."

Per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, owners approved a proposal that consists of an 82-game season beginning around July 4. Playoffs would expand from 10 to 14 teams, and games would be played at home ballparks without fans.

However, the biggest sticking point is a proposed 50-50 revenue split between owners and players, a point that Snell reacted to on his Twitch channel earlier in the day, per Rosenthal:

"Y'all gotta understand, man, for me to go—for me to take a pay cut is not happening, because the risk is through the roof. It's a shorter season, less pay. I gotta get my money. I'm not playing unless I get mine, OK? And that's just the way it is for me.

"Like, I'm sorry you guys think differently, but the risk is way the hell higher and the amount of money I'm making is way lower. Why would I think about doing that? You know, I'm just, I'm sorry."

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer also echoed similar sentiments in a video with sports agent Rachel Luba (h/t Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer):

"The ask is basically take more risk by getting back sooner and take less pay than we've already agreed. We've already agreed to take...50 percent pay cut and now they're asking us to take another pay cut.

"(A 50-50 revenue split) has never been done in baseball. It's not collectively bargained. It would just be for this season. It doesn't sit well with me. Slightly lighthearted, but if I'm gonna have to trust my salary to Rob Manfred marketing the game to make more money for the game, I am out on that."

The MLB announced that it would delay its season on March 12 because of fears about the spread of COVID-19.

On the MLB end, commissioner Rob Manfred went on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 and discussed a potential return to play, noting that all players would be tested multiple times per week.

He also said he had "great confidence" in a return to play but noted MLB owners stood to lose $4 billion if the season is canceled entirely.

That has never happened before in league history. The end of the 1994 season was canceled from mid-August through the World Series because of a labor dispute, but a calendar year has not gone by sans Major League Baseball since its inception in 1901, when the American League was formed.