MLB Reportedly Rejects MLBPA's 114-Game Proposal, Won't Send Counteroffer

Major League Baseball rejected a 114-game proposal for the 2020 season brought forth by the players association, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The league will not make a counteroffer, instead moving forward on discussions with owners for a shorter season.

Jeff Passan of ESPN noted this move was expected since Sunday but the league made it official Wednesday.

Andy Martino of SNY broke down the strategy behind the action:

On the other hand, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported there was "greater pessimism today from folks on both sides about MLB launching a season than at any point."

The MLBPA initially proposed the idea of playing 114 games Sunday with the season to take place from June 30 to Oct. 31, per Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The plan would have allowed players to earn prorated salaries without further pay cuts.

MLB considers a schedule of about 50 games with Opening Day in July a last resort, per Passan.

The start of the season has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, which will also likely prevent teams from playing in front of fans. To account for lost revenue, owners asked players to agree to major salary reductions.

The MLBPA in March had agreed to prorated salaries in the event of a shortened season, and owners May 26 proposed an 82-game season with top earners to make fractions of their salaries. According to Passan, a player with a $35 million salary would make $7.8 million.

Passan wrote that MLB says "it will lose money each game it plays without fans and with players making their full pro rata [and] has pushed for a shorter season because of fears of a second wave of the coronavirus potentially wiping out its postseason and the revenue that comes with it."

"We want to play more games, and they want to play less," one player told Passan. "We want more baseball."