MLB Players Reportedly ‘Livid’ Over Proposal That Would See Players Like Mike Trout Make 15% Of His Salary

Two weeks ago, after seeing Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer create an hour-long video breaking down what he called the “laughable” return to play proposal MLB owners were suggesting, as well as Nationals closer Sean Doolittle’s negative reaction to it, I stated that if fans think Major League Baseball is a lock to have a season in 2020 they had better dim that beacon of hope a little bit.

The proposal would have MLB teams returning for games beginning on Fourth of July weekend – i.e. five and half weeks from now, but based on some recent reports, that seems incredibly optimistic.

“I have never seen a collective response like I’m seeing today from the players,” one MLB agent told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “They are livid.”

“It’s such a shame there is so much distrust on both sides that we can’t be pragmatic adults,” said another. “There’s no way MLB would think that proposal would get a favorable response from the players. It’s ‘right back at you, screw you.’ And where are we? They’re playing a pretty dangerous game of chicken.”

What are the players so upset about? How about an 85% reduction in their salary to play a 82-game season? (That is 50.6% of the number of games they would normally play.)

“The proposal involves massive additional pay cuts and the union is extremely disappointed,” the MLB Players Association said in a statement to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas. “We’re also far apart on health and safety protocols.”

Check this out. Earlier this year, the players agreed to basically a 50% paycut to play half a season. Under the owners’ proposal here’s what the players would be earning the amounts below…

• $0 to $563,500 (MLB minimum) would get paid 90% of 50% of their salary.

• $563,501 to $1 million paid 72.5% of 50% of their salary.

• $1,000,001 to $5 million paid 50% of 50% of their salary.

• $5,000,001 to $10 million paid 40% of 50% of their salary.

• $10,000,001 to $20 million paid 30% of 50% of their salary.

• $20,000,001 and up paid 20% of 50% of their salary.

Got all that?

Good news for those on the lower end of the pay scale, but there is no chance, zero, nada, that a player like Mike Trout, who is scheduled to make $37,666,666 in 2020 is going to play over half a season for just $5,748,577 or 15.3% of what his contract calls for him to be paid.

Incredibly, well, not so much considering the source, MLB said in a statement on Tuesday, “We made a proposal to the union that is completely consistent with the economic realities facing our sport. We look forward to a responsive proposal from the union.”

Here’s one response…

Here’s a couple more…

“Here’s where I think MLB is screwing this up,” an agent told Rosenthal. “They are approaching this like a CBA negotiation. CBA negotiations usually happen in the offseason where players are disconnected, not paying attention and the deals are agreed upon before the season, so they don’t feel any financial impact unless they are a free agent the next year and get screwed.

“Since their whole paycheck is on the line and there’s nothing else going on in their lives, they’re completely invested, they’re getting educated and they’re following every step. It’s eye-opening for a lot of them. They’re seeing a greedy side of the owners and (commissioner Rob) Manfred that they have ignored in the past. This is gonna spill into the CBA negotiations for next year and the players are gonna take a stronger position.”

And don’t even get the players started on how minor leaguers are about to get shafted by billionaire MLB owners.

Like I said, good luck on there actually being a 2020 Major League Baseball season.