Major League Baseball proposed a number of changes that would affect free agency during collective bargaining discussions with the MLB players' association Thursday, though the ideas quickly drew the union's ire.
Under the league's suggested Cornerstone Player provision, free agents who are switching teams would be able to sign for a maximum term of five years, while a free agent staying with the same team could sign for up to six years, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. Free agents switching teams could be paid a maximum of 15% of the team's payroll, with 5% raises every year. The limit to contract length only applies to free-agent years.
MLB also proposed raising the minimum salary to $1 million for players with at least two years of service time and eliminating deferred compensation.
The league said it accepted the players' proposals to eliminate the qualifying offer system and to allow players who are 30 years old to qualify for free agency with five years of service time.
"The biggest issue baseball fans want solved to strengthen the game is fixing the payroll disparity that leaves too many fans without hope of their team competing for a World Series title," MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement obtained by Ronald Blum of The Associated Press. "Every other major U.S. sport has tackled this problem, and every year more small market teams in those leagues have a chance to win. The salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field."
MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer rebuked the league's latest proposal, reiterating that any kind of salary cap is a non-starter for the players.
"I will tell you with all honesty, I have never seen this degree of unity at this point among agents and players," Meyer said, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic. "I think, honestly, the league has done us a favor. Because their proposals are, in fact, so obviously and extremely bad for players at all levels, that it's actually been a benefit for our unity.
"Anybody who's banking on Major League Baseball players cracking: it's never happened. It's not going to happen. That's why we're the only ones who don't have a salary cap."
Meyer countered Caplin's statement directly, saying that "it really kind of strains belief to think that, well, they really want the system, because, geez, that's what the fans want." He added that a cap would be "the ultimate excuse" for owners to stop spending money.
"It's appalling that the stewards of the game, the people whose job it is to grow the game primarily and promote the game have for whatever period of time now in the last couple of years been saying nothing but the game's broken," Meyer said, per the AP.
MLB made its first set of proposals to the union May 27. The league recommended a salary cap and floor system with the floor initially set at $171.2 million and the cap set at $245.3 million.
The league is also proposing a guaranteed 50-50 split of revenue between players and clubs and seeking to centralize all revenue from local media and share it equally, stating that this would "allow MLB to address local market blackouts."
The current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.
