Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to a deal regarding a number of issues concerning a shortened or canceled 2020 season, according to multiple reports.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported the deal, which is expected to be ratified tomorrow. Terms include:
-Owners will pay players $170 million for April to May. The money will spread across four tiers — those with guaranteed contracts and the three different levels of split contracts between the majors and minors. If there’s no season, players will keep that money.
-Arbitration rules will be adjusted to reflect a shortened season, meaning individual statistics won’t count against players, as they will pale in comparison to a 162-game season.
-The 2020 MLB draft will happen no later than July and it will be decreased to five rounds. However, the league can increase the length at their own discertion. They also have the option to decerease the 2021 draft to 20 rounds
-MLB can delay the start of the international signing period to as late as January 2021. They have the option to push back the 2021-22 period to January 2022 through December 2022.
-Players (active or injured) will receive a full year of service time, no matter the length of the season or if it’s canceled. Meaning, the 2020-21 free agent class will remain the same.