WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 06: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals looks on from the dugout in the 4th inning during game one of the National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs at Nationals Park on October 6, 2017 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Max Scherzer took to Twitter on Wednesday night to torch Major League Baseball’s latest proposal to restart the league.

Max Scherzer took to Twitter to express the shared views of the players in response to Major League Baseball’s latest proposal.

The strong response doesn’t mince words.

I won’t take the time to explain my views on this situation. I can redirect you to the Bleacher Creatures podcast for that. Instead, I’ll focus on Scherzer’s message.

And that message is that Major League Baseball has now proposed two restart plans and neither one is even remotely acceptable for the players.

The fact of the matter is this: The players and owners came to an agreement on prorated pay in March. In that agreement, a legally gray clause left the possibility for renegotiation in the event that fans couldn’t attend games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The owners have taken that clause as a reason to minimize their losses this year at the expense of the players. Obviously, the players are hesitant to accept further cuts after previously agreeing to surrender almost half their salary.

Which brings us to Scherzer’s tweet and the two main takeaways.

First off, the current proposals are so atrocious that the players don’t believe further compensation reductions are worth addressing.

Secondly, and more importantly, Scherzer publicly called for the owners to open their books. As it stands now, the owner’s finances are mostly just estimates. Players can’t say for sure whether teams are fiscally incapable of operating while paying the prorated salaries.

If they can’t afford to pay the prorated salaries, the books will show that. Then players and owners can work to come to a deal under those constraints. However, if the books show that the owners have the money to pay those contracts, then this is nothing more than leveraging a pandemic to minimize losses in a down year.

I’d like to remain hopeful that a deal gets worked out. The league has too much to lose. A compromise exists somewhere that ends with fair compensation for players. Whether that comes in the form of further pay cuts or deferred payments is yet to be seen.

Of course, the owners revealing their financial records will go a long way in working towards a return to baseball.

Early Thursday morning, The Athletic reported that the Players’ Association is considering a proposal that would include full prorated salaries and a longer season.

For now, we’ll just have to wait and see who budges.

Lifetime ballplayer and Yankee fan. Strongly believe that the eye-test and advanced stats can be used together instead of against each other.