masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSo is the latest development in the talks between Major League Baseball players and owners going to lead toward an actual season? We’ll see about that and time continues to be short.
The owners side yesterday proposed a 50-60 game season, which would be followed by a postseason with seven teams in each league making it. The seven-team scenario was in play before the pandemic.
The owners have said they will pay the full prorated rate for the shorter season. Ironically, or maybe not, the players…

So is the latest development in the talks between Major League Baseball players and owners going to lead toward an actual season? We’ll see about that and time continues to be short.

The owners side yesterday proposed a 50-60 game season, which would be followed by a postseason with seven teams in each league making it. The seven-team scenario was in play before the pandemic.

The owners have said they will pay the full prorated rate for the shorter season. Ironically, or maybe not, the players sought a 114-game season which is 32 games more than 82. The owners proposed one with as few as 50 games, which is 32 less than 82.

Perhaps this is an owners side negotiation tactic to eventually wind up at 82 games. Hear me out on this. A player earning $10 million for the 2020 season would get $5.06 million prorated with 82 games. That drops to $3.09 million with 50 games.

What if, via a compromise, that $10 million player agrees to play 82 games for say, $4.6 million? Similar cuts could be made for all players. Both sides give a little here. The owners pay that player more than their earlier sliding scale plan called for and players take a little less than a full prorated salary.

Both give a little. Could it happen to bring about an 82-game season? A season of 50 games seems too few for me. At least at 82, they are playing half of what we are used to.

Can they save the 2020 season?

On the international front: The Orioles continue to make gains in their addition of international amateur talent. Baseball America published this article Monday listing a few players the Orioles have agreed to sign. Normally, the international signing period begins each year on July 2, but MLB officials could move that date back to Jan. 15, 2021 for this period. No announcement has been made.

Angry-bird-bag-sidebar.jpgAccording to the story, the O’s have an agreement with Samuel Basallo, the top catching prospect in the Dominican Republic. Baseball America said he is likely to get a bonus in the $1 million to $1.5 million range. He will not turn 16 until Aug. 13, meaning he can’t sign until that date or later if MLB pushes the usual July 2 date back past his birthday.

At 6-foot-3, Basallo is described as a player “that will have to stay on top of his mobility to remain at catcher, but he has power tools in his arm strength and raw power, with a shorter stroke for a 15-year-old his size from the left side of the plate.”

The report said the O’s have agreed with corner outfielder Wilmer Feliciano of the Dominican Republic for a bonus just short of $500,000. He is described with “big raw power.”

Per Baseball America, the O’s have an agreement with Venezuelan-born shortstop Maikal Hernandez. Baseball America describes him as “a long, lean shortstop at 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, but he has a chance to stay at the position because of his athleticism. He’s a plus runner with a strong arm and big power that he generates relatively easily, giving him a chance to develop into a power-speed threat.”

The Orioles have signed 34 international amateurs since the new signing period opened on July 2, 2019. They added 27 players that day and seven more in January. They spent around $5 million on that group and the biggest bonus, at $475,000, went to Dominican-born outfielder Luis Gonzalez.

Soon I will have much more on this with Baseball America’s Ben Badler. The Orioles cannot comment on any of these players, as they are not yet officially signed.