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    Report: MLB Proposed 154-Game Schedule, Expanded Postseason; MLBPA Considering

    Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistJanuary 31, 2021

    Opening Day logo painted on the field with the black ribbon in support of the Black Lives Matter movement prior to a baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Philadelphia. The Marlins won 5-2. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
    Chris Szagola/Associated Press

    Major League Baseball has reportedly proposed a 154-game regular season and an expanded postseason, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. 

    The proposal includes a one-month delay to the start of the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic and an extension to the calendar by one week. The MLB Players Association is reportedly considering the offer. 

    However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the MLBPA is expected to reject the offer on Monday.

    Brown added that the players would be paid their full salaries if the season went the full 154 games, and that the MLBPA had previously rejected the expanded postseason. 

    Buster Olney of ESPN later reported that spring training would start on March 22 under the proposal, with Opening Day taking place on April 28. The postseason would carry over into November, per Olney.

    Joel Sherman of the New York Post broke down why the union might reject this offer and how the two sides remain far apart in a comprehensive Twitter thread:

    Joel Sherman @Joelsherman1

    1/Union does not see this proposal as guaranteeing 162 games of pay for 154 games. Not guaranteeing if games get cancelled and that in this proposal the commissioner would gain wider latitude to cancel games. Concern is that with season compressed into a shorter window even at

    Joel Sherman @Joelsherman1

    3/already are at spring training sites and that u-turning now also would be a problem. Union is reviewing the proposal with players and agents this weekend. Had a call with player reps on Saturday. But they have been adamant to this point that they would not exchange getting a

    Report: MLB Proposed 154-Game Schedule, Expanded Postseason; MLBPA Considering
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    Joel Sherman @Joelsherman1

    5/part of every conversation. I would ask this: What is the best possible way to try to play as many games while lowering the potential for COVID outbreaks in which the players are paid in full and the owners have a chance to maximize their revenues? It feels like they need a

    Joel Sherman @Joelsherman1

    7/coaches, umps, food preparers, etc. in mind. The history of the relationship leads to so little constructive working together for the future good of the game. Maybe ask this question: What will be done today by my side to make sure MLB is in the best position for all in 2025?

    Or as baseball writer Craig Calcaterra put it, the MLB's offer amounts to: "We give you a thing you already have in exchange for a thing that is INSANELY valuable to us and probably hurts you. Whaddaya say?"

    The players have a few reasons for rejecting an expanded postseason. For one, there is the fear that more teams getting into the postseason could make owners less inclined to spend in free agency, since getting into the playoffs will be easier. 

    If you think you can sneak into an expanded playoff, why spend big for that star player who would have potentially put you over the top in the past system? That, in turn, could drive down spending across the board. 

    The other concern is that the owners and MLB receive the postseason television money, per Calcaterra, while the players get the "get a share of the postseason gate." So an expanded postseason almost exclusively benefits MLB's owners and the league when it comes to negotiating those television rights with broadcasters. 

    Last year's negotiations for a shortened season amid the coronavirus pandemic between the players and owners was protracted and heated. Repeating that scenario at least doesn't appear to be an option:

    Jeff Passan @JeffPassan

    Here's a very, very important point in light of the MLB-MLBPA talks: If there is not a deal ... there is still going to be baseball, so long as governmental authorities allow it, which they're doing with every other sport. In fact, absent a deal, Opening Day will be April 1.

    With one more year under the current CBA, the current plan is to begin baseball on that April 1 date. The ongoing complications of the coronavirus have made that start date less than ideal. But if the two sides can't agree on an alternative plan, baseball will remain on the current trajectory to start on April 1.