Report: MLB Players Feel They've Been 'Bullied' by Owners in Recent Seasons

The Major League Baseball Players Association reportedly doesn't want to give in during ongoing negotiations with MLB owners in part because players feel they have been taken advantage of in recent years.

On Friday's episode of Get Up, Mike Greenberg asked ESPN's Jeff Passan if the debate over prorated salaries would effectively turn into a salary cap. Passan said players feel as if they have been "bullied" by owners in numerous ways related to free agency and service-time manipulation:

The state of free agency in MLB has been a mess for years, culminating with the 2018-19 class when Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remained on the market until after spring training began in February 2019. 

Service time has been another contentious issue between the two sides for years. Kris Bryant filed a grievance against the Chicago Cubs for sending him to Triple-A for two weeks at the start of the 2015 regular season, allowing them to delay his free agency by an additional year. 

Bryant ultimately lost his case in January, keeping him under control to the Cubs through the 2021 season. 

Negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA about the 2020 season have reportedly been fraught with tension to this point.  

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, owners don't want to pay full prorated salaries because they will "lose more money" by doing that since they will be playing games without fans in the stands. 

In March, the two sides agreed to a deal that addressed multiple issues related to a potentially shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic. That agreement included fully prorated salaries and service time based on the number of games played. 

However, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, MLB "made it clear to the union that economic adjustments would be necessary if games were played in empty parks."

ESPN's Karl Ravech reported the league's next proposal to the union will come on Friday and will include a regular season between 70-75 games with between 80-85 percent of prorated salaries paid out. 

If MLB and the MLBPA don't reach agreement on a season and pay structure, commissioner Rob Manfred has the authority from the March deal to mandate a shortened regular season at some point.