Cincinnati Reds batterymates unhappy with latest proposal from owners

The latest proposal from the owners is met with the same opposition from the Reds batterymates.

In an effort to get baseball underway, Major League Baseball’s owners sent another proposal to the Player’s Association. It was not too well received, nor should it have been, from Cincinnati Reds batterymates Tucker Barnhart and Trevor Bauer. Both Barnhart and Bauer took to social media to vent their frustrations.

The latest proposal from the owners is another attempt to look good in front of the onlooking public, while not really moving toward an agreement. With the threat of a 50-game season hanging out there, the owners essentially sent a proposal to the players that would pay them the exact same amount over 72 games.

The latest proposal offers players 70% of their prorated salary over 72 games. Both Ken Rosenthal and Even Drellich of The Athletic chimed in, saying that the only increase being offered from the owners is in the event that postseason play actually happens, something that has been a fear of MLB due to growing concerns over a spike in coronavirus cases as fall approaches.

The question becomes, as Rosenthal points out, that the postseason is not a guarantee. However, according to Drellich, if baseball is played all the way through the playoffs, it would see the player’s salary increase by $71M. As you can imagine, many players feel as though this is just serving up the exact same thing they’ve been seeing, except it’s in a different box.

Barnhart, while he admitted to not doing the math, assumed the proposal would come out to the same amount of money the owners had offered players during its previous two proposals. Bauer, never one to shy away from commenting on MLB’s shameless tactics, did the math and notified his Reds teammate that his speculation was accurate.

The owners have given the union until Sunday to respond, though the players are likely to shoot down the latest proposal before then. Regardless of whose side you come down, the owners or the players, the ones who are suffering the most are the fans.

For those of us who just want to see baseball played, watching these two sides argue over money is extremely disappointing. Both sides are so entrenched that I don’t see an end to this until Rob Manfred steps up and announces a 48-to-50 game season with an expanded playoffs. I’ll be happy when the Reds return to the field, but baseball may have done irreparable damage.