MLB, players union mull 2021 season delay, 154 games

Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Major League Baseball and the players union are in negotiations to decide if the 2021 season will be delayed and shortened after its pandemic-shortened and delayed 2020 campaign and altered postseason.

Sources told USA Today, ESPN and Yahoo Sports that MLB on Friday proposed a 154-game season to the union. That proposal also includes full salaries for the players.

MLB also has proposed a one-month delay to the 2021 season, an expanded playoff field and a universal designated hitter position for the American League and National League.

The union had not issued a response to the proposal as of Sunday night, but has previously favored starting the season on time and not expanding the postseason field.

Players' full salaries have been a topic of debate between the two parties because of the financial losses teams sustained in 2020 from fans not being allowed to buy tickets and attend games. Players were paid a fraction of their full salaries when they played a 60-game season in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Teams were in spring training in mid-March when the pandemic halted sports activities worldwide. The 2020 MLB season then started on July 23, four months after its scheduled start.

The MLB's latest proposal for the 2021 campaign features a mid-February start to spring training before an April 28 start to the regular season. The league also wants to expand the postseason field from 10 teams to 14 teams as part of the proposal.