Minor League Baseball

Major League and Minor League Baseball are still at the bargaining table, but the latter will now seat different representatives. According to J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, the MiLB leadership has named a new slate of negotiators.

It’s an interesting gambit with the clock ticking on the existing deal between the sides and plenty of ground left to cover. Indeed, as Cooper notes, some within the minor-league system now see a growing possibility that talks won’t result in a deal, which could even lead MLB to build its own new farm club network.

Cooper goes into full detail on the dynamics at play here; you’ll want to read the entire article to understand the situation. In brief, as he puts it: “The group that was disbanded on Monday was viewed by many to be more focused on the interests of MiLB owners rather than those of [MiLB president & CEO Pat O’Conner] and MiLB’s offices.”

No matter which negotiators attempt to close out the deal, it sounds as if contraction to 120 teams is now a fait accompli. While MiLB had built some leverage through political pressure, the global pandemic greatly undermined the organization’s position. If a bargain is struck, MLB is sure to gain much greater authority over minor-league operations, though the new MiLB negotiating team is expected to try to carve out an ongoing role for the organization and its leadership.

Because of COVID-19, odds are there will not be a minor league baseball season in 2020. No official decision has come down, but that may be on the verge of changing. Minor League Baseball’s board of trustees are scheduled to meet Tuesday, when they could make an official announcement on whether a season will take place, Evan Drellich of The Athletic reports.

“I think in the next 24 hours we’re going to find out what we’ve known for a month and a half now,” a minor league owner told Drellich.

A canceled season seems likely as a result of multiple key factors, as Drellich explains. For one, in the improbable event of a season, minor league teams would have to provide their own players because Major League Baseball suspended its agreement with the minors amid a national emergency. Additionally, from a financial standpoint, the minors would not be able to sustain a season with no fans in their ballparks.

It goes without saying that not having a season would have a detrimental effect on many individuals and teams throughout minor league ball. There may be an increase in furloughs and layoffs of employees, Drellich writes, and it’s possible some teams will have to file for bankruptcy if they’re unable to play this year. Notably, even before the coronavirus reared its head, MLB was exploring a “radical restructuring” that could eliminate about a quarter of minor league clubs. A season off (or a truncated campaign with empty stands) wouldn’t do those teams any favors.