Houston Astros: The MLBPA’s latest proposal needs to gain traction

The Houston Astros are still waiting on the when and the where they will get the opportunity to play this season. The MLBPA has fired its latest shot.

The Houston Astros are still trying to figure out the “when” and the “where” they will play their season, which has obviously been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The way we watch sports will change for the near-term as sports leagues across the world — let alone in the United States — on how best to get things back going again.

As the NBA and the MLS prepare to restart their leagues with the finalized proposals that have been approved, the MLB still is mired in heated negotiations as if this were a new collective bargaining agreement that they were negotiating.

Are things edging closer for us to see Jose Altuve, George Springer, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa among others?

The latest sequence of events which is equivalent to two warships firing shots across bows certainly has that “lockout” feel, even though COVID-19 is the only inhibitor from keeping players doing what they do best.

We’ve seen the MLB and MLBPA continue to have a glorified spat over the whole issue of how the drastically reduced revenues will be split and even the issue of players waiving their right to grieve any issues that they may have with work requirements has been on the table and something the league wants.

This is all happening while MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred seems to be watching this escalation get worse, not stepping in and demanding that a deal get done for the sake of vitality of Major League Baseball.

It’s quite easy for him to do — he’s the league’s top executive and he’s gotta have that “bully pulpit” mentality and start pushing people around.

Although I doubt we’ll see that, the Player’s Association has sent across their latest proposal and here’s what includes:

I think this is the fairest proposal brought to the table yet and I’m sure the owners are going to find

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a way to reject it.  The key stickler for owners to reject is likely the 50/50 split of national television revenues for next season.

Although the MLB doesn’t release the specifics of how that looks, I’d imagine that it’s currently not a even split if this is what the MLBPA is proposing.

The waiver of grievance is included in this latest proposal but the additional money that the players would get would more than make up for that.

It’s anyone’s guess on if this will still get things across the finish line but it certainly is another solid starting point for the Player’s Association.  Tony Clark, MLBPA’s top executive, has to hold the line in keeping his players happy and I don’t see why this proposal would not.

Nonetheless, this has been an intriguing yet disappointing exchange, proving that pro sports leagues are going to develop contingency plans if the world has to ever go through such a serious pandemic that’s going on right now.  It will change the way we all do business forever.

But let’s hope we get to see the Houston Astros soon!  Let’s go!