Report: MLB now focused on safety and scheduling, not negotiations with players

The MLBPA told Major League Baseball on Saturday that their efforts to negotiate an agreement on the 2020 season were over, and that MLB should simply tell players when and where to report. The league appears ready to do just that.

In a Monday conference call, MLB owners decided to take the union at its word that negotiations were over and move on to next steps, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Those issues include reaching an agreement with the MLBPA on health and safety protocols once games begin, as well as setting up a schedule for the abbreviated season.

The MLBPA believes this is simply a stall tactic by MLB that will ultimately see the league set up a 50 to 60 game regular season with the traditional 10-team playoff structure.

Nightengale also notes that grievances are likely to come on both sides, with the MLBPA feeling that not enough games will be played while the league feels that the union did not engage in good faith negotiation.

As part of their Saturday night ultimatum, the MLBPA asked to know what these plans would entail by the end of Monday, but the owners do not appear set to comply with that request. That means this probably gets dragged out a while longer, but the ultimate conclusion does seem to be that meaningful baseball will be played at some point within the next month or two.