3 Positive Signs We Need to See This Week for 2020 MLB Season to Happen

As Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association negotiate a roadmap for the 2020 season, details about what the campaign might actually look like are beginning to surface. Two of the most important subjects to address -- player earnings and mandatory health safeguards -- are presently being consulted by both parties.

It's fair to say that last week oozed nothing but pessimism in regards to a restart, as players and owners partook in a verbal war over revenue sharing proposals. With that in mind, here are three developments we'll need to see in the coming days in order for an MLB season to be realized after so much delay.

3. No More Player Outbursts

Blake Snell's now-famous Twitch rant in which he claimed that he wouldn't adhere to the owners' proposed financial framework was powerful. Some in the general public declared him entitled for he refusing to accept millions of dollars to play the sport he loves while essential workers are earning much less and so many are out of a job, however. While it's easy enough to agree with the intentions behind Snell's comments -- players are all being asked to take on a burden that just won't harm billionaire owners nearly as much -- these sort of diatribes should be held behind closed doors from here on out. Baseball itself is under scrutiny. It doesn't need more black eyes.

2. MLBPA Accepting League's Health and Safety Proposal

The MLB presented its long-awaited health proposal that is designed to keep players, officials, and other personnel as safe as possible for the duration of the 2020 season. The 67-page blueprint is extremely detailed, and some of the requirements might not sit well with players. However, these are obviously unprecedented times. Hopefully, that will be the mindset of the MLBPA while it reviews these terms. An approval would be a monster step in the right direction for play to resume by the desired July return date.

1. Owners Cave and Pay the Players

Last week was a notable blow to the MLB's ambitions to return. There's no other way to put it. Players and owners locked horns after the latter's polarizing financial proposal, which includes a 50-50 revenue split but vastly reduced salaries, was leaked. Not only is asking players to take a significant of a pay cut incredibly weak, but owners could also lose up to $4 billion if the 2020 season is cancelled entirely. Let's cross our fingers that this is enough to convince them to swallow their prides and pay the players, who will be taking on a great health risk, what they should earn.