MLB proposes delayed 154-game season that includes universal DH

MLB has reportedly sent the player’s union a proposal on Friday to push the season back and make it a 154-game season, according to multiple reports.

However, the union is expected to reject the proposal, per USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale. A counterproposal could come, but there has been no word on it.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on, the proposal delays the season a month and extend it by one week. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Spring Training would instead start on March 22 followed by Opening Day on April 28 if the proposal was agreed to.

The postseason would subsequently carry over into November with the World Series, and it would be the same expanded format with 14 teams as last season.

The players’ union hasn’t been keen on having an expanded postseason, at least as big as 14 teams like it had been in 2020. They also want to play a full 162 games.

The proposal also stated that players would receive full pay like it was a 162-game season. Many will remember what occurred last year when disputes over pay stymied the season from starting.

And finally, perhaps the most intriguing detail of them all for Mets fans, is the universal DH supposedly inside the proposal. That is something both sides can still agree on at the ned of the day.

The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported a player from the union called to discuss the proposal on Saturday, so we might hear something more regarding the union’s official thoughts on the matter. If Nightengale is correct, it would mean both sides continue their negotiations.

But even if a deal isn’t agreed upon, baseball will still happen on the original April 1 Opening Day, so long as government officials allow it to kick off. Every other sport has been running, so until that changes, there shouldn’t be an issue.