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MLB, MLBPA Making Final Negotiation Effort

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Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are making a “last-minute attempt at haggling” in hopes of reaching an agreement on a deal regarding the 2020 season, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. It seems the last-ditch effort to find a common ground is the reason that the MLBPA has twice delayed its scheduled meeting to vote on MLB’s 60-game proposal.

If the two sides aren’t able to reach a compromise, commissioner Rob Manfred is expected to implement a season at a length of the league’s choosing. Doing so would ensure the players their prorated salaries for the duration of the 2020 season and would not include the expanded playoffs which the union has offered to ownership. Barring an agreement between the two sides, we’re down to the “last hours” before Manfred implements a season length, per Olney.

Throughout this process, both parties have maintained that they hope to reach a deal rather than have a season set by Manfred under the preexisting March agreement. Players are hopeful of reaching a negotiated agreement because doing so would result in playing more games at their prorated salary levels. Ownership wants a negotiated deal because that’s the only means of achieving the significant playoff expansion (and thus postseason revenue) in 2020-21. The March agreement indicates that players would need to sign off on postseason expansion.

To this point, onlookers are plenty aware that neither side has been willing to come down off its key points. The union is insisting on prorated salary, and the league is staunchly against pushing regular-season play beyond Sept. 27 and — as of last week — opposed to playing any more than 60 games at prorated levels of pay.

The exact points that the two sides are discussing aren’t clear, although Joel Sherman of the New York Post provides a bit of insight (all Twitter links). The league has told the union that it can only offer forgiveness on the standing $170MM advance to players on split contracts (a total of about $33MM that would effectively only be paid to the game’s lowest-paid players) and that no money would be added to the players’ share of the 2020-21 playoff pool. If fewer than 50 games are played, though, the league would strike the agreements on expanded playoffs and a universal DH in 2021.

Whatever the specifics, it doesn’t appear that length of schedule is among the points of negotiation at this juncture. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the two sides are trying to work out an agreement on a 60-game season and that failing a negotiated agreement, Manfred will implement a season of 54 to 60 games.

Notably, ESPN’s Ben Cafardo tweets that Manfred is expected to speak on television soon. That certainly suggests that a resolution could finally be nigh — whether it’s Manfred announcing a deal with the union or simply announcing that he has implemented a season length under the March agreement.

We still don’t have a sense for how the league plans to address additional COVID-19 outbreaks within the sport, which we saw last week when 40 players and staff members tested positive (including eight in one organization). If a season length is at long last settled upon today — one way or another — the two sides they can pivot their full attention to that critical component of return-to-play talks.

Cubs Sign First-Round Pick Ed Howard

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June 22: The Cubs have formally announced the signing. Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that Howard’s exact bonus is $3.7455MM (the full slot value for the No. 16 pick).

June 21: The Cubs have agreed to terms with first-round draft choice Ed Howard, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Howard will receive a $3.75MM bonus, on par with the slot value for the 16th overall pick with which he was chosen. The Cubs entered the draft with an overall pool of $6,721,600.

In Howard, the Cubs got not only the best high-school shortstop in this year’s draft class, but a hometown product as well, with Howard playing his high-school ball in Chicago. He’d been committed to continue his career at the University of Oklahoma, but as a surefire first-rounder, there was little doubt that Howard would instead play affiliated baseball.

Howard’s calling card is his steady, fluid defense at shortstop. With a strong throwing arm and smooth footwork, scouts almost universally think he’ll be able to stick at shortstop in the Majors. There’s less certainty about his offensive game, but evaluators laud his bat speed and believe there’s room for more power with a refined approach and some physical development.

At just 18 years old, Howard and the Cubs will have plenty of time to work on his game before he’s a finished product. Make no mistake, his selection likely has nothing to do with Javier Baez’s future in a Cubs uniform; Howard is an outstanding prospect regardless of the Cubs’ situation at shortstop, and we’ll look forward to seeing him make an impact at the Major League level in the near future.

KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Sign Brandon Barnes, Waive Jared Hoying

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The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization have waived outfielder Jared Hoying and signed another former big leaguer, Brandon Barnes, to replace him on the roster, Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports. The 34-year-old Barnes can earn up to $200K on his midseason deal, though only have that sum is guaranteed (with the rest available via incentives).

Barnes last popped up in the Majors back in 2018, when he hit well in a late-season cup of coffee with the Indians (.261/.333/.421 in 21 plate appearances). However, he hasn’t been a mainstay on a big league roster since his 2012-16 run between the Astros and Rockies. The former sixth-round pick (Astros, 2005) is a career .242/.290/.357 hitter in nearly 1300 Major League plate appearances and a .264/.329/.444 hitter in his Triple-A career. He split last season between the Triple-A affiliates for the Indians and Twins, connecting on 30 homers while adding 30 doubles and 11 steals. He’s capable of playing any of the three outfield slots.

Hoying, 31, was in his third season with the Eagles. He briefly saw MLB action with the 2016-17 Rangers but received only 126 plate appearances. He took the KBO by storm in 2017, erupting with a .306/.369/.573 slash, 30 home runs, 47 doubles, two triples and 23 stolen bases in his debut campaign. That easily earned him another contract with the Eagles, but Hoying hasn’t reached those height since. He still logged a solid .284/.340/.460 line last season, but he’s off to a dismal .194/.254/.323 start through 134 plate appearances this season.

Barnes isn’t expected to join the roster until July, Yoo details. He’ll complete a physical and go through a 14-day quarantine process before being added to the active roster. He’ll hope to help turn the tide for a last-place Eagles club that has slumped to a disastrous 10-32 record to begin the season.

A’s To Begin Negotiations To Fully Purchase Oakland Coliseum Site

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In the latest wrinkle in the Athletics’ quest to build a new ballpark, Oakland’s City Council decided in a “nearly unanimous” vote Thursday to start negotiations about selling the city’s half of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum site to the team, Phil Matier of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The A’s already own the other half of the site, having completed the purchase with Alameda County over the winter.  The city of Oakland is looking for a similar version of that sale, which would see the A’s pay the city $85MM over an unspecified time frame.  Those funds would greatly help a city that, like virtually everywhere else in the world, suddenly faces major financial issues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After the coronavirus shutdown, we are looking at a very,very serious budget deficit, and they are saying it could cost us $6MM just to maintain the site,” city councilman Noel Gallo said prior to the closed session of council.  “We don’t have that kind of money. This way we can get some badly needed help.”

The deal is based around the A’s ultimately staying in Oakland, and assuming that the Coliseum site deal goes through as planned, the club would now have multiple options towards that end.  The Athletics’ first choice is still to build a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site in downtown Oakland, and should that ballpark be completed, the A’s would then look to develop the Coliseum site themselves.  As per Sports Illustrated’s John Hickey, the 155-acre property that currently houses both the Coliseum and the Oakland Arena (the former home of the Golden State Warriors) would become “a shopping, cultural and residential area…The Coliseum itself would be razed, although the baseball diamond would become a large park.”

The other possibility is that the site could be used as a backup plan for a new A’s ballpark.  The Athletics would continue to play in the Coliseum until a new stadium was built in what is currently the site’s north parking area.  As Hickey notes, however, that the pandemic could make this scenario more realistic if the A’s aren’t able to borrow the funding necessary to convert the Howard Terminal area.

Earlier this month, A’s president Dave Kaval said Howard Terminal was still the team’s priority, though “we’re just focused on taking it quarter by quarter and seeing how much progress we can make.”  While some obstacles remain in the way of the Howard Terminal project getting a full green light, that endeavor looked to tentatively be on track, with the Athletics originally hoping for an opening by the 2023 season prior to the coronavirus shutdown.

This is purely my speculation, but if financing becomes enough of an issue, the Athletics could theoretically look to sell the 155 acres to another developer in order to generate the money necessary to finalize the Howard Terminal concept.  Such a next step would add another major layer of complication to what has already been a drawn-out process, of course, and obviously the A’s would prefer both their new ballpark and the Coliseum residential area as dual revenue-generators.

It’s fair to say that some fans could be a little perturbed to hear about another potential multi-million-dollar development deal during a time when so many teams are claiming economic strife.  The A’s have long been one of baseball’s lower-spending teams, and their cost-cutting measures have often drawn criticism — even just recently, owner John Fisher had to admit fault and reverse the team’s initial plan to eliminate the $400 weekly stipend given to Athletics minor leaguers.  A’s ownership has insisted for years that a new ballpark is necessary for the team to remain in Oakland, and if nothing else, today’s news should deepen the ties between the club and the city.

40 MLB Players And Staff Test Positive For Coronavirus

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9:33PM: The camps of at least 10 different teams have been “affected” by coronavirus cases since the end of Spring Training, Heyman tweets.

6:47PM: A total of 40 Major League players and staff members had positive COVID-19 tests in the last week, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports.  This total presumably includes the already-reported cases in recent days — members of the Yankees, Angels, Phillies, and Astros organizations are known to have the virus, while the Blue Jays and Giants also closed their training camps after people connected with the teams displayed COVID symptoms.  As a result of this outbreak, the league ordered all spring training facilities to be closed (and thoroughly cleaned) while new health protocols are determined between the MLB and the players union.

The sheer number of people involved at every level of a big league organization makes it inevitable that more positive results beyond these initial 40 cases will emerge as testing continues in the coming days, weeks, and months.  Even after a more concrete set of health and safety protocols are established, the threat of COVID-19 will hang over whatever baseball we see played in 2020, including the open question as to what will happen if a team-wide outbreak (akin to the Phillies’ current situation) occurs during the season.

As MLB Network’s Jon Heyman puts it, COVID-19 is “the common enemy” that both baseball’s owners and players need to battle first and foremost, even beyond the two sides’ protracted negotiations over how to launch the 2020 season.  The health situation has led to a new “sense of urgency” in talks, Nightengale writes, though the rapidly shrinking calendar is also a factor given the players’ desire to play more than 60 games.

MLBPA To Vote On MLB’s 60-Game Proposal In Coming Days

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JUNE 21: While no vote will take place today, Heyman reports that MLB is “willing to make a couple changes” to its 60-game proposal to facilitate an agreement with the players. One such change, as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan: if a full season isn’t played this year, Manfred offered in a letter to Tony Clark to cancel the expanded playoff format and the universal DH rule in the 2021 season. Such a provision would prevent the deal from leaning too far in the owners’ favor should the COVID-19 pandemic force the cancellation of the 2020 season.

In the same letter to Clark, Manfred suggests that the two sides’ disagreement on the number of games played might be an inflexible issue, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. With teams relocating from the spring locations to their home ballparks, Rosenthal tabs June 29 as the earliest date teams could report to training. And if the season is to end by September 27 (which MLB has insisted upon), that leaves 66 days to play. Thus, the 70 game schedule desired by the players might not be feasible.

JUNE 20, 4:55: The union will hold off several days on voting, which was originally supposed to take place on Sunday, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Instead, players will spend some time review health and safety protocols after teams have shut down their regular spring training sites due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in Arizona and Florida. Expect an update on the players’ votes at some point in the next week.

JUNE 20, 1:54: According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the MLB Players Association is set to vote this weekend on MLB’s latest proposal for a 2020 season, which consists of a 60-game season with full pro rata pay, as well as expanded playoffs and a universal DH through 2021, among other things. As part of that proposal, the players would also waive their right to seek additional compensation through a grievance.

If the players opt to reject the owners’ proposal, expect to see commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally mandate a schedule, a last resort that the league has kept in its back pocket throughout negotiations but which brings with it the possibility of a grievance action from the union. That said, Manfred could opt to forego that action and instead choose to cancel the season altogether, though it seems like that isn’t the preference of most owners.

This weekend’s vote will be held by 38 players—one representative from each team, as well as an executive committee of eight players. Those team representatives have no doubt maintained contact with teammates and will have a pulse on their feelings towards the proposal.

Heyman further reports that early rumors suggest that the executive committee may vote nearly unanimously in opposition of the league’s proposal. And while the team reps are harder to gauge, there’s a chance that a majority will also opt to reject the deal. If that’s true, it may be likely that the players will simply let Manfred set the 2020 schedule.

Last we heard, the players countered with a 70-game schedule. And while that offer evidently didn’t lead to an agreement, it seemed like the two sides were finally making some progress on Thursday, with just 10 games separating the parties making it look like a midpoint in the sixties was feasible.

And while a league-mandated schedule won’t bring us closer to the players’ desired number of games—perhaps making it look futile to reject the league’s current proposal—players will want to maintain their ability to file a grievance against the league, something that wouldn’t be possible if they were to accept. Rejecting the league’s offer would also do away with the two-year expanded postseason, as well as other quirks like controversial extra-inning rules.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/21/20

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Let’s check in on some details regarding recent amateur draft signees.

  • The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with fourth-round pick Carson Taylor, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. The former Virginia Tech catcher will receive a $400K bonus, just shy of the #130 pick’s $434,400 slot value, Callis adds. Taylor, a draft-eligible sophomore, hit .290/.389/.413 with 20 walks against 21 strikeouts as a freshman in the ACC in 2019. He was off to a fantastic start in mostly non-conference play this spring before the college baseball season was cancelled. Baseball America, who named Taylor the #219 draft prospect, lauded the switch-hitter’s plate discipline and power from the left side.
  • Tigers fourth-round pick Gage Workman will come in at $1MM, Callis also reports. That’s well above the #102 pick’s $571,400 slot value. As Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs had previously suggested, that reflects Workman’s ample leverage as a young-for-the-class college junior. The toolsy, switch-hitting infielder played his college ball at Arizona State.

Aaron Hicks ‘Ready To Play’ If MLB Season Returns

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Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks would be “ready to play” if the MLB season returns in July, he tells George A. King III of the New York Post. Hicks underwent Tommy John Surgery last October.

It seems Hicks has progressed as hoped throughout rehab. The procedure initially called for an eight to ten month recovery time, and the 30-year-old looks to be coming in at the early end of that timetable. He has been taking batting practice for two months without issue, he tells King, and has progressed to throwing from 160 feet and taking outfield drills.

Myriad challenges (coronavirus upticks in certain states, a messy labor dispute) remain for there to be a season at all, of course. If MLB were to get games off the ground, the Yankees would certainly be thrilled to welcome Hicks back. A flexor strain helped limit Hicks to 255 plate appearances over 59 games last season, the first of the seven year, $70MM extension he signed last February.

Injury-plagued 2019 notwithstanding, Hicks had emerged as one of the league’s better outfielders over the prior two seasons. Between 2017-18, he hit .255/.368/.470 (128 wRC+) over 942 plate appearances with slightly above-average defensive metrics in center.

National League Draft Signings: Picks & Bonus Info

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Here is the list of every National League team’s picks over the five rounds (plus the free agent compensation sandwich picks and the two Competitive Balance Rounds) of the 2020 draft.  Slot price information and — if available — the amount of the player’s bonus are listed, as well as each club’s total draft bonus spending pool.  If a player doesn’t sign with the team, the slot price attached to the player’s draft spot is removed from the team’s pool.

Teams are allowed to spend beyond their draft pool limit, though at an increasingly steep penalty.  Exceeding the limit by 10 percent or less of the pool value will cost a team a 75 percent tax on the overage, as well as the forfeiture of a future first-round pick if they exceed the pool by between 5-10 percent.  A 100 percent tax on the overage is levied if a team exceeds its pool by more than 10 percent of the total pool value, with heavier pick penalties — a future first- and second-round pick if a team’s extra spending falls between 10-15 percent of the pool limit, and two future first-round picks if the pool is exceeded by more than 15 percent.  Needless to say, it would be shocking if any team topped the five percent threshold, though going over the pool limit by 0-5 percent isn’t uncommon.

For further reference, here is the rundown of draft signings for American League teams. These lists will be frequently updated as more players sign over the coming weeks, so keep the posts bookmarked for future updates!

Braves ($4,127,800 draft pool)

Brewers ($6,078,300 draft pool)

Cardinals ($7,901,100 draft pool)

Cubs ($6,721,600 draft pool)

Diamondbacks ($7,184,900 draft pool)

Dodgers ($5,928,400 draft pool)

Giants ($9,231,800 draft pool)

Marlins ($12,016,900 draft pool)

Mets ($7,174,700 draft pool)

Nationals ($6,647,700 draft pool)

Padres ($10,674,000 draft pool)

  • Robert Hassell III, 1st round, 8th overall. Slot value: $5,176,900
  • Justin Lange, Competitive Balance Round A, 34th overall. Slot value: $2,148,100
  • Owen Caissie, 2-45. Slot value: $1,650,200
  • Cole Wilcox, 3-80. Slot value: $767.8K
  • Levi Thomas, 4-109. Slot value: $533K (Signed for $80K)
  • Jagger Haynes, 5-139. Slot value: $398K (Signed for $300K)

Phillies ($5,444,200 draft pool)

Pirates ($11,154,500 draft pool)

Reds ($8,552,100 draft pool)

Rockies ($10,339,700 draft pool)

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