Reds news: Trevor Bauer confident 2020 season will occur

Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer is 100% confident there will be baseball.

Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer has shown that he’s not shy about speaking his mind. The right-hander has taken MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to task and recently voiced his displeasure with Scott Boras interfering in union business. However, the Reds hurler’s latest comments suggest an overwhelming confidence we’ll see baseball in 2020.

Bauer, who takes his opinions to Twitter on a regular basis, initially posted “This is so frustrating,” to his social media platform. However, when asked what the chances are that the 2020 season will occur, Bauer responded with “100%”.

Take that however you will, but that same level of confidence has been ripe throughout Major League Baseball circles in recent days. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s all rainbows and sunshine, because the possible return may be just a 50-game season if the players and owners cannot play nice and come to an agreement on their own.

This all boils down to two things; dollars and sense. Both the owners and players seem to have an excess of dollars, but not much sense. At a time when baseball’s presence on the television could gain new audiences and increase the number of eyes on the sport, both the owners and the Player’s Association are squabbling over money.

Many pundits are reporting that, due to a clause in the initial agreement between MLB and the MLBPA, Commissioner Manfred can decide on a shortened-season whether the players and owners agree to terms or not. This is, in my opinion, the worst option for either side, but that may be the line of thinking that Trevor Bauer is speaking of when he’s 100% confident in seeing baseball in 2020.

From a fan’s perspective, a 50-game season seems hardly worth it. Most starting pitchers might get 10 starts, and that’s if injury doesn’t occur due to lack of a true spring training. If the Reds get off to the same type of start we’ve seen the past few years, they’d be sunk in a week.

Baseball is meant to played over several months, and with the constraints of the coronavirus putting a halt to the MLB season, the owners and players need to find a way to get in as many games as possible. According to ESPN, the owners recently submitted a proposal for a 76-game season. However, that has been met with resistance as well.

As part of the proposal, the player’s would receive 75% of their prorated salaries, or $1.432-billion in total compensation. The proposal also added the possibility of expanded playoffs; up to eight teams per league. That could bode well for the Reds, who’ve greatly improved their roster this season.

The NHL and NBA have already put together plans for the resumption of their respective seasons. The NFL and college football appear on track to resume once their season begins this fall. Baseball is being played overseas, but the owners and players have yet to come to as agreement.

The most disappointing thing about the entire disagreement is that the concerns are not over safety, but money. While I’m sure there are a few concerns from some players in regards to safety, most experts believe those are minor. When millionaires and billionaires are fighting over money, the only ones who lose are the fans. Figure it out, baseball!