NEW YORK — Players agreed to a deal with Major League Baseball that would preserve service time in the event this season is cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but left open details of what a configured schedule would look like.
As part of the agreement approved by the union Thursday night, players will not challenge the loss of their salaries if no games are played.
Management will advance $170 million in salary payments over two stages, and that money does not have to be returned if the season is cancelled. Player salaries this year are expected to total roughly $4 billion.
Management was given the right to cut the amateur draft in both 2020 and 2021, and to freeze the values of signing bonus money at 2019 levels.
Details were divulged to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the agreement who spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.
Teams are set to approve the roughly 17-page agreement Friday, the person said.
Opening day was to have been Thursday, but was pushed back to mid-May at the earliest because of the virus outbreak. The spring training schedule was cut short on March 12 because on the pandemic, and it remains unclear when and if baseball can resume.
Both sides agreed to make a “good faith effort” to schedule as many games as possible this year, subject to government rules, travel, player health and economic feasibility.
They also agreed to consider playing past the usual end of the post-season in late October and early November, even if it involves using neutral sites and domes. They would consider a large increase in doubleheaders to get as many games in as they can, to play without fans and to revise the post-season format.
Seven-inning games for doubleheaders have not been given much discussion but also have not been ruled out.
Players considered service time the key, and older players were willing to give up money to keep younger colleagues on track for big-money contracts next off-season.
If there are no games this year, anyone currently on a 40-man roster, 60-day injured list or an outright assignment to the minor leagues with a major league contract would receive 2020 service time equaling what the player accrued in 2019. If a partial season is played, service time would be the equivalent of what the player would have received over a full schedule.
Mookie Betts, Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, George Springer and JT Realmuto would be eligible for free agency, even if no games are played. The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Betts from Boston just before spring training with the assumption they would have the 2018 AL MVP for one season.
But the trade-off was players would give up their salaries if there is no season, other than the $170 million being advanced to those on the low end of the salary scale. Different tiers of players will receive the advance payments, aimed at those on the lower end of the salary scale.
In the event of a shortened season, 2020 salaries would be prorated depending on how much of the season is played.
Management has the right to cut the amateur draft from 40 rounds to as few as five this year and 20 in 2021, and also has the right to delay the draft to as late as July 20 this year and next. It had been slated to start June 10 this year.
In addition, signing bonuses may be deferred in both years, with 10% due within 30 days of each contract’s approval and 45 per cent on July 1 in each of the following two years.
In a late change, signing bonuses for undrafted players subject to the draft will be capped at $20,000 and not $10,000 as MLB proposed earlier.
Management also has the right to push back the start of the signing period for international amateur players from July 2 to the following Jan. 15 for both this year and for 2021. Then end of each signing period could be delayed from June 15 to Dec. 15.
In the event of a cancelled season, all players who were eligible for salary arbitration last off-season would receive the same salaries in 2021 as they were due in 2020.
They agreed salary arbitration decisions next off-season could not be used as precedents and statistical comparisons in arbitration would be adjusted to account for lesser opportunities in a shorter season. In the event of a partial season, qualifying offers to free agents after the season would be based on the full salary total of the top 125 players and not the prorated portion.
When the agreement is finalized, all rosters will be frozen, including trades, signings, optional and outright assignments, placement on the injured lists and designations for assignment. A flurry of options were announced by teams on Thursday.
The union’s executive board and other players gathered on a telephone conference call and unanimously approved the agreement.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
