By Damon Knight, Tribune Correspondent
On Monday, May 11th, the MLB approved of a proposal in which revenue will be split 50/50 with the MLBPA. However, players throughout the league spoke out about the proposed plan to start the season. Most recently, Tampa Bay Rays’ ace, Blake Snell. Snell, 27, said playing under a reduced salary and the possibility of contracting the coronavirus is “just not worth it” — especially for less money than his contract says he should be earning.
“Y’all gotta understand, man, for me to go — for me to take a pay cut is not happening, because the risk is through the roof,” Snell said while answering questions on his Twitch channel. It’s a shorter season, less pay. No, I gotta get my money. I’m not playing unless I get mine, OK? “And that’s just the way it is for me. Like, I’m sorry you guys think differently, but the risk is way the hell higher and the amount of money I’m making is way lower. Why would I think about doing that?” MLB’s proposal is in an effort to jumpstart an 82-game season beginning in early July. It will see an active roster of 30 players, 14 playoff teams, and a 50/50 revenue split for players and owners. Cincinnati Reds’ pitcher Trevor Bauer says the league’s proposal is “laughable.” Furthermore, Snell indicated he’ll be losing a lot of money due to the league’s new proposal if it’s agreed upon. The former Cy Young winner of ‘2018 is scheduled to make $7 million this coming season but is more pessimistic about the situation saying, “If I’m gonna play, I should be getting the money I signed to be getting paid. I should not be getting half of what I’m getting paid because the season’s cut in half, on top of a 33% cut of the half that’s already there — so I’m really getting, like, 25%. On top of of that, it’s getting taxed. So, imagine how much I’m actually making to play, you know what I’m saying?”
Snell added that the risk is also more about just money.“And then be on lockdown, not around my family, not around the people I love, and getting paid way the hell less — and then the risk of injury runs every time I step on the field,” he noted. Snell is entering the second year of a 5-year, $50 million contract. He is coming off a ‘2019 campaign in which he went 6-8 and had an ERA of 4.29. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said, “If we don’t play a season, the losses for the [club] owners could approach $4 billion.”
