MLB Owners Vote to Implement 2020 Season After Players Reject Restart Proposal

Following months of negotiations and impasses, Major League Baseball's owners are ready to proceed with the initial March agreement they made with the players.

David O'Brien of The Athletic shared the league's statement saying it is "disappointed" the players rejected its framework for a 60-game season with expanded playoffs and a universal designated hitter. As a result, the owners unanimously voted to proceed with the March agreement.

They also asked the players to respond by Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET and to make clear in that response whether they can report to camps by July 1 and whether they agree to the health and safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, there is a "strong expectation" that the MLBPA will approve of the league's latest plan:

The March 26 agreement allows commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a shortened season that guarantees players fully prorated salaries. Whether the salaries would be fully prorated was a sticking point for some of the ensuing proposals, but the negotiations shifted to things such as the number of games of late.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggested this vote by the owners means "there will definitely be a 60-game season."

Nightengale also explained the universal designated hitter will still be in place for 2020 since it was part of the March agreement but it will not be included for the 2021 campaign.

ESPN's Buster Olney said Manfred implementing a shortened version of the season could trigger multiple dominoes, including some players sitting out and the players association filing a grievance saying the owners did not negotiate in good faith based on the March agreement:

This comes after ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers reported the Major League Baseball Players Association executive board rejected the league's 60-game proposal with expanded playoffs on Monday with a vote of 33-5.

There is also the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic looming over all the negotiations.

reported every team's training camp was temporarily shut down following a number of positive tests around the league, while one MLB official told ESPN's the pandemic is a "much bigger threat" to baseball than the labor negotiations.

Yet, it appears as if the league's owners still plan on having a season, and they will await a response by the players.