The pact governing Minor League Baseball’s operating agreement with Major League Baseball will expire at midnight Wednesday evening, but the once bitterly divided sides are still trying to forge a new deal.
The switch to more amicable relations came in late spring, when MiLB decided it would be unable to quell MLB’s desire to de-affiliate at least 40 teams from its stable of 160. Before the mood shift, the sides had locked horns repeatedly in loud, public forums.
The fate of the Red Sox' New York-Penn League affiliate Lowell Spinners remains up in the air, with MLB still not revealing its list of cuts.
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MiLB’s negotiators are still trying to work out more favorable terms on a new Professional Baseball Agreement, one which will have MLB take over operations for the slimmed-down minor leagues; dissolve MiLB’s St. Petersburg, Fla., offices; sell franchise licenses to each of the four affiliates for each major league ball club; and market the farm system with some of its major league corporate know-how.
Establishing a new PBA is not a necessity since MLB could simply take over operations, but continuing a sincere effort to forge a new deal would signal some degree of cooperation and collaboration in a partnership that began 119 years ago.
“For more than a century, MLB and MiLB have worked together to grow the game of baseball into America’s pastime,” said D.G. Elmore, chairman of MiLB’s PBA negotiating committee in a statement. “The current agreement between MLB and MiLB expires today. Minor League Baseball’s negotiators have been meeting with MLB to reach a new agreement — one that would continue the relationship with MLB and preserve affordable, family-friendly entertainment in each of our 150 communities across the nation. Minor League Baseball will continue to work in good faith over the coming weeks to reach a well-designed and fair agreement that meets MLB’s player development needs and continues the relationship between the two for generations to come.”
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MLB declined to comment on Wednesday, although on Tuesday, its MiLB contraction plan kicked off. MLB announced that its 10-team Appalachian League — all the teams are owned by MLB — would beginning in 2021 feature the top 320 rising college freshmen and sophomores in a 54-game, wood-bat league.
The Appalachian League, an affiliated minor league since 1911, will be part of a new Prospect Development Pipeline venture between MLB and USA Baseball. MLB describes the PDP as a “pathway” for amateur American baseball players, and a key part of the process for identifying and developing members of future national teams.
On Tuesday morning, US Rep. Lori Trahan, whose district encompasses Lowell, and her “Save Minor League Baseball Task Force” co-chairs issued a statement expressing disappointment about the PBA expiration.
“We strongly support the preservation of minor league baseball in our respective communities and across the nation. By the start of the 2021 season, many of these clubs will have seen little or no revenue for at least 18 months. We urge the negotiating parties to come to an agreement, without delay, that is fair to the fans, players, and local communities alike,” it read. “The future of professional, major league-affiliated baseball that is close-to-home and affordable hangs in the balance. Next year, we and the thousands of baseball fans we proudly represent look forward to hearing umpires shout, ‘Play ball,’ in ballparks across the United States.”
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Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.