The Major League Baseball and MLB Players Association are in the midst of some eleventh-hour negotiations on the playoff expansion for the 2020 season, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. A deal would be needed before the first pitch of tomorrow’s Nationals / Yankees season opener. It is unclear exactly when the two sides resumed their talks in an expanded postseason, which was a focal point of their failed negotiations in May and June, but Heyman suggests there is “optimism” on both sides that an agreement will be reached.
During this summer’s back-to-game negotiations, which did not result in a deal (lead commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a 60-game season under his March deal), the league sought to expand the postseason format from 10 to 16 teams. . The initial hope was that the change would take effect for both 2020 and 2021, but doing so would require an agreement to negotiate with the players union. When that didn’t happen, the 10-team postseason status quo remained in place.
Since the 60-game season was implemented, MLBPA CEO Tony Clark has expressed his willingness to resume talks with Manfred’s office should the league push for further talks. Exactly what concessions the league is willing to make for players remains unclear in this recently restarted set of conversations. But given the potential for more than $ 300MM in additional television revenue under an expanded postseason format, it’s no surprise that MLB is looking for one last chance at a deal.
