2020-06-19 11:30:00 EDT
Here’s your daily roundup of all the MLB news that’s affecting the 2020 season—if it even happens. Today we’re wading back into baseball’s labor fight (again) and updating with new information on the possibility of games this year, so let’s jump right in and check out the latest MLB updates. Get Free MLB Picks and MLB Predictions for every game all season long at Sports Chat Place.
MLB 2020 Season Latest – With the current status of negotiations between the MLB and the players’ union, the prospect of a 2020 baseball season is on life support and fading fast. The latest blow to the odds came Thursday, when the MLBPA proposed a 70-game regular season schedule that was immediately rejected by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
The proposal included expanded playoffs for both this year and next, and the union was pretty confident that the two sides would be able to find common ground with this deal. Included in the proposal was a 70-game schedule from July 19 to September 30, full prorated salaries, spring training beginning June 26 and a 16-team postseason field for 2020 and 2021. This latest offer from the union comes on the heels of a 60-game proposal from the MLB on Wednesday that featured full prorated salaries. The union believed that proposal to be too short and wanted more games, hence the offer of 70.
Are the two sides really any closer? If you’re an optimist, sure. There are just 10 regular-season games separating the two sides (and plenty else to bicker about, but let’s stay positive), and negotiations have continued in reasonably good faith this week. That said, this feud has some terrible optics and has been an utter embarrassment for both the league and the players. If we don’t see significant progress this weekend, you can probably kiss the 2020 MLB season goodbye—and at this point many fans would say good riddance. More on this as it develops.
Rookie Pitcher Watch – Considering how tiring the madness of the whole will they/won’t they on the 2020 MLB season is, it’s nice to look at some of the younger upcoming players and speculate on their future impact on the league. We’ve been checking out talented pitchers from this year’s draft class this week, and today we’re going to visit with LHP Garret Crochet from the White Sox. Crochet was selected at No. 11 overall in this year’s MLB Draft, which is a nice risk/reward position for immediate playing time on a potentially great young arm. We could see him make a debut in the Majors as early as this year (if a season happens, that is).
Crochet is pretty well set up to make a splash in the MLB sooner rather than later. He pitched out of the bullpen in 23 of his 36 appearances with Tennessee, and has a great one-two punch with his fastball and slider. The Sox debuted a young Chris Sale just two months after drafting him in 2010, so the team could be thinking the same thing with Crochet.
