Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have expressed mutual interest in getting big leaguers involved for the 2028 Summer Olympics. There’ll need to be a formal agreement between the league and players union for that to happen.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Tuesday that there are various issues to be sorted out. Some of that is related to logistical concerns that also need to be ironed out with the Olympics and LA28 themselves — e.g. hotel amenities and the number of tickets available to participating players (link via Evan Drellich of The Athletic). The most interesting element, as first reported by Passan, is that the league proposed a mandatory participation clause.
That would require players who are chosen to suit up or face stiff penalties. MLB proposed that any selected players who didn’t want to partake would be subject to undisclosed fines and a three-week stint on the restricted list spanning July 10 – August 3, 2028 unless they have an excused absence at the discretion of the league office. That’s essentially a suspension, as players on the restricted list do not receive service time or salaries. A player on the injured list would be excused from the restricted list but would be barred from playing any regular season games until August 3 — a clear attempt to preemptively shut down the possibility of teams using a “phantom IL” stint as a workaround.
Unsurprisingly, MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer wasn’t keen on the mandatory participation. He told reporters (including Drellich) that the proposal was “extreme.” Commissioner Rob Manfred responded by noting that the in-season Olympics break would be “a disruptive undertaking” for the league, so “we want our very best out there so that people see how great our game really is.”
The ’28 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. If there’s an agreement on involving major league players, the league would like to pause regular season play after July 9. They’d hold the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game on the 10th and 11th, respectively.
The tentative plan would be for the baseball phase to run from July 13-19, even though the Opening Ceremony of the overall Olympic Games isn’t scheduled until July 14. The MLB regular season would resume on July 21, nine days before the Olympics themselves conclude.
According to the IOC, the baseball tournament would be a six-team field split into two groups of three teams. Those teams would play a round robin, with the top team in each group automatically qualifying for the semifinals. The remaining four teams would play a quarterfinal round with single elimination games the rest of the way to determine the medalists.
Three of those teams are already locked in. The U.S. automatically qualifies as the host country. Venezuela and the Dominican Republic qualified based on their placements in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Venezuela won that event by defeating the U.S. in the final. The Dominican Republic lost in the semifinals but earned the other allotted spot for a country in the Americas as the next-best finisher.
The remaining three teams will be determined by future tournaments, the first of which is scheduled to take place in November 2027. One spot will go to a team from Asia, with Japan the on-paper favorites to secure that berth. One will go to either Australia or a European team, while the final is a Wild Card spot to be determined at a later tournament.
MLB plays the World Baseball Classic every two years. The event has attracted more star talent over the past few iterations and has clearly taken on a lot of importance for the participating players. However, it remains an optional event. It’s fairly common for players to decline the invitation while preferring to keep their focus on Spring Training.
Manfred differentiated the WBC, which takes place in March, from an in-season Olympics. “The schedule for the Olympics is going to cover days that players otherwise would be playing in major league games. If they’re not on an injured list, they’d be out there playing,” the commissioner said on Tuesday.
Drellich writes that the MLBPA has not officially responded to the league’s proposal on mandatory participation. The union could try to leverage that into more accommodations for those who play in the tournament.
The majority of selected players will likely want to play regardless. The NHL had no issue getting strong excitement for the Winter Olympics this past February. If anything, the more irritating hangup could be insurance issues similar to those that prevented some players from participating in the 2026 WBC. Most teams weren’t willing to allow players whose coverage was denied to play in the World Baseball Classic. The league would need to sort that out to get best-on-best competition for the Olympics.
MLB players have never appeared in the Olympics. Baseball has been a medaled sport six times, most recently the 2020 Tokyo Games. All players on a 40-man roster were prohibited from participating. The U.S. will be hosting the summer games for the first time since 1996, making it a more realistic possibility without shortening the 162-game regular season. The league would rather move the start of the ’28 season up a few days to make up for longer break as opposed to stretching the postseason well into November, Passan reports.
Hmmm 156 game season on Olympic years? 2028 is a world baseball classic year as well we are asking a lot outta stars. Maybe 154 game season? WBC, Regular season, Olympics and postseason just seems pretty wild for a big arm.
I just don’t understand how you expect a Skenes, Miz, schlittler or even a reliever like Miller to survive something like that without fundamentally changing roster and or season construction.
there’s just too many $$$$$ for MLB to ever consider going to a shorter season, even for one year. I don’t believe it’ll ever happen.
The WBC isn’t held every two years like the article says. It’s theoretically on a three-year rotation (thanks, COVID), so 2028 won’t be the next one, so the would be no. doubling up with the Olympics.
MLB should have never expanded to 162 games in 1961. Messed up the record books.
But just another bad decision in a long line of bad decisions by those in charge.
Wouldn’t this essentially make the WBC a redundant event or vice versa?
Also the idea the players want to play high intensity and “meaningful” games is weird to me. Because these are the same players who will be out 3 weeks because of a stubbed belly button. Yet they want more games? How about play the 162 that the fans pay to see before playing in a dumb conjured up romanticized patriotic show.
Yes. Lots of athletes want to represent their country. Representing your country at the dumb conjured up romanticised patriotic show that is the Olympic Games being the pinnacle.
Oh the poor fans. So hard done by.
Playing baseball isn’t exactly representative of your nation. Hitting a home run while carrying the stripes and stars isn’t a patriotic act. It’s sports. If that is defined as patriotic than it’s a patheticly low bar.
Short of getting armed up and going to war, it’s not a bad option for representing your people and giving them some feel good. Plenty of athletes buy into it. I know I would.
Oh yeah, war is all about feel good.
Probably not the best term. You get the drift though.
Just don’t see an impending free agent risk injury and a long term multi million dollar contract for a glorified exhibition game. The fact that MLB would seek to make participation mandatory only reinforces this belief.
Yeah. Fair. The impending free agent would have to give it the most thought.
The word “mandatory” is probably the first deal breaker for the union…
As it should be.
Mandatory is ridiculous. Say a guy is playing hurt or on the IL if chosen. Why would he risk it?
Another idiotic proposal by MLB. In no way can they force players to perform in the Olympics.
Sound logic. If they are going to the effort of disrupting the season for the purposes of growing the game, they want to showcase the best. Good thing to shoot for. I think the best players will be busting for a shot at it anyway. Olympic gold medals are a thing !
Some, not all. We’ve seen the player enthusiasm for the WBC. The Olympics is an even bigger deal. Making it mandatory participation subjecting players to risk their careers from injuries is downright ridiculous.
They risk that every mlb game. It’s no greater risk. I’m thinking most would be more accurate than some. We’ll see.
Probably a once in a lifetime opportunity as well. I imagine it’s only being considered because it’s in the US. I can’t see myself down here in Brisbane seeing Bryce Eldridge live in July/Aug 2032.
Representing your team is what players signed up for contractually, not representing your country in exhibition games as well.
Describing the Olympic Games as an exhibition is American ignorance at its finest.
Ok. Let’s not inconvenience the mlb fan for a week or so. They obviously aren’t big enough to deal with it. Way too self centred. Understood.
You’re grasping at straws there. Let’s not forget where MLB originates from.
I’m not forgetting. The attitude from the home country is next level ridiculous. Fantastic opportunity for the game to grab some new international fans. Yeah. Nah. Too hard. I’m inconvenienced. That’s what it reads like. Dumb.
It’s all good though. Cricket will be happy if it doesn’t happen. The rapidly growing baseball version of that game will be on full display in LA for the bat ball folks. Here’s hoping the Australian boys get an Olympic gold medal that they can hand down to their Grandkids. I’m thinking a few of them would cherish that opportunity. No amount of cash is buying that opportunity.
A 3-week stint on the IL for not participating is a bit extreme. A fine I can see & maybe a couple game suspension, but a being on the IL for 3 weeks is a little too much
I get what the league is saying though. Its planning a 12 day break. So you need something to prevent teams from manipulating a 15 day il stint. I think rather than mandate everyone is out until Aug 4, the days from jul10 to 21 just shouldnt count towards the il time. So if you go on the il Jul 9 you’d be out until Aug 4 (15 league days). But dont need to reset the clock on anyone who’s on the il earlier.
It’s an 11-day break but who’s counting.
It’s not a 3-week stent on the IL, it’s the restricted list. Players get paid while on the injured list but not while on the restricted list
Either way, it’s extreme. Players aren’t going to agree to that.
The RL, not the IL.
Hard pass. Top to bottom. Hate it.
My thoughts exactly.
The shortest period of time between two WBC’s is three years. 2006 to 2009 and 2023 to 2026. It has never been played every two years.
Correction: The World Baseball Classic is not played “every two years”
It started in 2006 and was originally every four years, but switched to the current every three year format in 2023 after losing a WBC due to the pandemic.
What a stupid idea, to interrupt the regular season for the Olympics. I haven’t paid attention to the Olympics since the winter of 1980 and I’m not about to start now.
You’ve missed out on some epic all time great athletes and achievements
Ha ha. Oh Grandpa. You do that.
Hint. It’s not about you.
Aren’t there enough amateur players to make a team? These rules are ridiculous.
MLB trying to take the same idea the NHL had; stop the season and let the best pros play in the Olympics. Much easier to do playing inside an arena. Not so easy when you consider colder climates come October and November come playoffs.
The mandatory part of this is absurd.
They can’t stop the season for two weeks and then only a handful of guys play in the Olympics
They can’t stop the season for two weeks.
Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme!
I have tickets to the finals. I hope they play.
They should play baseball in the Winter Olympics, but at a tropical or subtropical location.
Or indoors
Good Idea. The Olympics at All-star break.
I don’t want the MLB players playing in the Olympics. I want them playing the MLB season.
So we got the WBC and the Olympics. The only difference: one is mandatory and one isn’t.
The WBC has several contrived Heritage teams that are really a gimmick, a joke actually. Like the idea of Olympics Baseball but would start with 8 teams not 6. Two divisions of 4 for three games in division. Top 2 teams in each advance to semi’s. Then finals. Five games total for the finalists with one off day along the way. It should happen in L.A and Anaheim, great addition to the Games.
Could just take the best from the minors since they have shorter seasons anyways. What happens when one of the big stars goes down with an injury while playing games outside of the mlb during the season? Just sounds like there was zero thought put into what’s being said and it’s more about growing your particular brand and reputation.
So- good possibility that a strike in 2027 and then a pause in 2028 season. MLB is changing folks!
The NHL generated more interest because it’s a better sport. Little Johnny at home wants to see the Tkachuk brothers battle Canada and not a Logan Webb vs Cuba.
lol
Mandatory!?! No, sorry. MLB players?!? No, sorry. Cull players from the minors and indy leagues.
Maybe some players will refuse to suit up if they believe “Orange Man bad!”
Doesn’t everyone believe “Orange Man bad?”
Apparently not. 1/3 of you are still donning the red caps according to the polls. Ha ha. Remarkable !
Record Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, Consumer spending, inflation down 0.7%. Yep, we doin’ aight. The buffoonish hissy fits from other factions are laughed at and seen as a sign of mental illness. Carry on.
Won’t matter. He has no say nor influence in the matter. I’m sure he’ll groan with his own opinions.