A group of Major League Baseball owners is perfectly OK with shutting down the delayed 2020 campaign in order to reduce payroll costs and mitigate financial losses, sources told Buster Olney of ESPN.
Teams' varying views on whether and how to proceed with the season have been demonstrated by their decisions to fire and furlough staff, Olney added.
Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting used the coronavirus-induced work stoppage to suspend club employees' 401(k) plans. The Oakland Athletics franchise, which is owned by John Fisher, informed the team's minor leaguers Tuesday that they wouldn't be paid their weekly $400 stipend beyond the end of May.
However, other teams have taken different approaches. The Minnesota Twins are reportedly one of eight clubs that committed to paying minor leaguers through August, which is around when the 2020 MiLB season was scheduled to end.
The league and the MLBPA haven't yet reached an agreement on return-of-play terms for a shortened campaign, and the two sides aren't believed to be close. The players' association is reportedly preparing an "outlandish" proposal to counter MLB's economic plan.
The two sides won't meet the soft June 1 deadline for a deal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Sunday. He added that there's still hope to begin the season on Fourth of July weekend if an agreement can be finalized around June 5-9.
