MLB v MLBPA - Now what?

The owners’ latest proposal to resume baseball activities, which will slash the most money from the most highly-paid players, appears to be designed to create maximum ill will among players towards the owners and possibly between well-paid players and those making much less.

With each successive round of “negotiation” I feel less sympathy for both sides. Rich ballplayers making millions of dollars more than the average fan declare that the millions they are making are not sufficient. Rich owners who have not shared an ever-increasing pool of money with the players in the good times are insistent that the players must feel the fiscal pain now that hard times have hit. It’s like Spy versus Spy writ large.

Meanwhile, both sides have forgotten the First Rule of Holes - when you are in one, stop digging.

Indians News

Here’s what the MLB owners’ salary proposal would do to the Cleveland Indians’ payroll - cleveland.com

Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana are the Tribe’s highest-paid players. In a normal 162-game season, they would both make a base salary of $17.5 million. On March 26, after the season was delayed, the owners and players reached an agreement in which the players said they would forego their normal salaries and play for a prorated percentage of their contract based on games played.

Under those terms, Lindor and Santana would have received $8,858,025 for the 82-game season that was proposed by the owners earlier this month. Tuesday’s proposal would reduce that salary by nearly 50% to $4,600,298.

Jason Kipnis: Playing for Cubs is a 'mindf*** at times' after Indians tenure - A fan pointed out on Twitter how surprising it is to see Kipnis in Cubbie Blue a few years later, and the 33-year-old's reaction was nothing short of genuine.

Inbox: How will the Indians' outfield shape up? - Mandy Bell gives us this week's mailbox

Trevor Bauer rips Scott Boras on Twitter for 'meddling' in MLBPA affairs - Sports Illustrated
Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer took to Twitter to call out super agent Scott Boras for "meddling in MLBPA affairs."

Around the League

• Vin Scully on MLB's return during coronavirus pandemic - Sports Illustrated
  “I just feel very sad,” Scully told me by telephone from his home in Southern California. “I’m not angry. I know people are trying to solve this issue.”
• MLB’s Public Fight With Players: A Timeline | FanGraphs Baseball - Fangraphs puts MLB's statements in chronological order
• Meanwhile, MLB.com offers bread and circuses such as the Dream Bracket and behind-the-back home runs
• Craig Calcaterra examines where the talks stand.