At 2:30 on Sunday afternoon, commissioner Rob Manfred sent a hastily composed email to Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark addressing a concern the players had raised in recent days.

The players already had indicated a willingness to accept language in MLBs most recent proposal empowering Manfred, after consultation with medical experts and the union, to suspend or cancel the season because of issues related to COVID-19. But the league had gathered from various sources that players were uneasy about a particular question:

If the union accepted the leagues offer for a 60-game season and granted MLB expanded playoffs for 2020 and 2021 among other concessions, what would happen if Manfred ended the season early?

Would MLB perhaps exercise a quicker trigger to cancel play, knowing players would be paid only for each game actually played and that the league would still get the expanded playoffs for future seasons?

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Rob Manfred reaches out, players abort meeting, progress unclear - The Athletic