The MLB continues to make headlines, but not in the way they’d like to see them. On Wednesday night, Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell made it public via his Twitch stream that he ‘was not planning on playing the 2020 MLB season on a reduced salary’. Snell is the latest player to speak out against the proposed 50-50 revenue split that MLB has offered the MLBPA in a potential plan to start the season, which has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Snell seems adamant about not participating in a revenue split, commenting that is “just not worth it” — especially for less money than his under-paid contract says he should be earning.
While this is only the viewpoint of one player (as great a pitcher as he is), owners and coaches should be checking in on how all their players feel about Snell’s comments. Players obviously should know from common sense that the MLB is just trying to take care of the health aspect, but the owners should know that many players are in the prime of their careers and may only have one shot at making significant money.
The players’ union has yet to agree to the proposal, and many stars have said they are not on board with the new revenue split plan. One of them, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer, called the proposal “laughable.”
The MLB is getting closer and closer to finding a solution on how to get a season in this calendar year. Whether it’s 80 games, playing at several neutral sites, or different divisions entirely, one thing is for sure – the league will need the majority of the players to agree to some sort of agreement. Whether that includes a pay cut or not has a very good chance of being the deciding factor.
