Morning Mound Visit: MLBPA makes yet another counter proposal

Jesse Rogers | ESPN: The MLBPA submitted yet another counter proposal to MLB. The union is asking for a 70-game season starting on July 19, full prorated pay, and 16-team playoffs in 2020 and 2021 among other things. First estimates would value this deal around $300 million more than what the league proposed Wednesday (around $10 million per team). One would think that ownership would take the deal, but instead they aren’t responding to the union (read: stalling for time). A 2020 season appears no closer.

Ben Clemens | FanGraphs: If baseball is played this year, it will come with expanded playoffs. In all likelihood, that won’t be a one-time thing. Ben Clemens examined the competitive and financial ramifications of expanding the playoff field.

Adam J. Morris | Lone Star Ball: There’s a double-standard within baseball. If an owner makes a cutthroat move for the sake of saving money, that’s just business. If a player holds out for money, they’re being greedy because they get paid to play a game. What makes it worse is that players are the only ones who work to make the business profitable. Owners provide no value themselves.