Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell
says he will not play this season for a reduced salary, especially
because the risk of contracting the coronavirus is "just not worth it."
Snell voiced his opposition to Major League Baseball's reported proposal of a 50-50 revenue split with the players for a coronavirus-shortened season in a video posted to social media Wednesday.
"Y'all
gotta understand, man, for me to go -- for me to take a pay cut is not
happening, because the risk is through the roof," Snell said while
answering questions on his Twitch channel. "It's a shorter season, less
pay.
"No, I gotta get my money. I'm not playing unless I get mine,
OK? And that's just the way it is for me. Like, I'm sorry you guys
think differently, but the risk is way the hell higher and the amount of
money I'm making is way lower. Why would I think about doing that?"
The 50-50 revenue split is included in a plan approved Monday by owners,
sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. The MLBPA is expected to reject that
element of the proposal and counter that a March agreement between the
parties guaranteed players a prorated portion of their salaries.
Snell,
who was scheduled to make $7 million in 2020, said that he "love[s]
baseball to death" but is unwilling to accept multiple reductions of his
salary.
"Bro, I'm risking my life," Snell said. "What do you mean
it should not be a thing? It should 100% be a thing. If I'm gonna play,
I should be getting the money I signed to be getting paid. I should not
be getting half of what I'm getting paid because the season's cut in
half, on top of a 33% cut of the half that's already there -- so I'm
really getting, like, 25%.
"On top of that, it's getting taxed. So imagine how much I'm actually making to play, you know what I'm saying?"
Rays manager Kevin Cash did not want to talk about Snell's views of the finances but did discuss the medical concerns.
"I
guess we all have a right to say what we want to say and believe and
feel what we want to believe," Cash said. "But I can assure you that
stance of the prioritization of health and safety among everybody
affiliated with baseball, and certainly our fans and our communities,
and all of the first responders that have been out there working
currently through this rough time, we support and continue to support."
Snell later texted the Tampa Bay Times, acknowledging that he realizes his comments on the video could be perceived as greedy.
"I
mean honestly it's just scary to risk my life to get Covid-19 as well
as not knowing and spreading it to the others,'' Snell texted to the
Times. "I just want everyone to be healthy and get back to our normal
lives cause I know I miss mine!"
The former American League Cy Young Award winner
also told the Times he would be willing to skip the 2020 season and
said the owners' proposal of a revenue split is "is super frustrating
because we have way more risk."
Snell emphasized in the video that
he is concerned about the long-term health effects of possibly
contracting COVID-19, saying the damage to his body is "gonna be there
forever."
"I'm
just saying, it doesn't make sense for me to lose all of that money and
then go play," he said. "And then be on lockdown, not around my family,
not around the people I love, and getting paid way the hell less -- and
then the risk of injury runs every time I step on the field."
Snell, 27, is entering the second year of a five-year, $50 million deal with the Rays.
MLB
met with union officials Tuesday to begin presenting its proposal, but
the discussion did not involve player compensation or other economic
components, sources familiar with the meeting told ESPN's Jesse Rogers.