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(Reuters) – Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred said on Wednesday he met with the head of the MLB Players Association this week and they put together the framework of a deal to salvage a 2020 season amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Manfred, who had previously said he was “not confident” a 2020 season would happen, requested a one-on-one meeting with MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark and the two spent several hours together in Phoenix.
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“We left that meeting with a jointly developed framework that we agreed could form the basis of an agreement and subject to conversations with our respective constituents,” Manfred said in a statement.
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“I summarized that framework numerous times in the meeting and sent Tony a written summary today.\\xc2\\xa0Consistent with our conversations yesterday, I am encouraging the clubs to move forward and I trust Tony is doing the same.”
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MLB and the players\\\’ union have been trying to find common ground on a return-to-play plan for the 2020 season but have been unable to reach agreement in areas like player compensation and the number of games played.
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Last week Manfred pegged the likelihood of a 2020 season as “100%” but dramatically shifted his tone this week after the union on Saturday rejected MLB\\\’s latest offer of a reduced 72-game schedule with 80% prorated salaries and called off talks.
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According to reports, owners have since offered to pay players their full pro-rated salaries in exchange for a 60-game season that would begin on July 19.
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MLB was scheduled to open its 162-game regular season in late March but delayed the campaign due to the pandemic.
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(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
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