New union head says 2027 MLB work stoppage could disrupt plans for big leaguers at 2028 Olympics

MLB and the union also are preparing for the start of bargaining in April or May for a labor contract to replaced the current five-year agreement that expires Dec. 1. A management lockout is expected to start Dec. 2.

“It can be on a separate track, but I’m sure it will come up in the course of negotiations,” new acting union head Bruce Meyer said Sunday night at the World Baseball Classic. "If we’re in a situation where games are being missed in '27, that could have an impact on playing the Olympics after that."

Meyer said a lost 2027 season would eliminate big leaguers from the 2028 Olympics.

“If we don’t have a season, we’re not going to play in the Olympics,” he said.

MLB has not lost regular-season games due to a labor dispute since 1995.

Insurance and player accommodations remain issues that must be resolved for MLB players to appear at the Olympics. At the WBC, costs are split proportionally among the shareholders — MLB and the union have equal stakes that are the most, and the WBSC, Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization also own minority shares.

“The federations involved, the IOC, we still have a lot of issues to work out with the league," Meyer said. "Pretty much everything other than the qualifying — issues like insurance, transportation, and a whole variety of issues. ... Housing, lodging, security is all still under discussion.”

Players during the regular season are entitled to “first-class jet air and hotel accommodations,” according to their labor contract, and they likely would not want to stay in dormitory-type rooms commonly used at Olympics.

For players not in the Olympics, discussions are exploring the possibility of having teams play exhibition games against each other or minor league affiliates.

Meyer spoke on the field at the Miami Marlins' loanDepot park before the U.S. played the Dominican Republic for a berth in Tuesday's WBC final against Venezuela or Italy.

A crowd of 34,548 attended Venezuela's 8-5 upset win over Japan in a quarterfinal Saturday night. The Marlins drew 1.16 million at home last year, 28th among the 30 teams, and drew 29 crowds of less than 10,000.

“In this market, in Miami, you can see the the fan interest in baseball, which unfortunately is perhaps not maximized by the franchise here,” Meyer said.

MLB and the union are discussing the possibility of having exhibition games during an extended 2028 break for those players not at the Olympics.

The Dominican Republic and Venezuela have qualified along with the host U.S. and one team from Asia and one team from Europe/Oceania can qualify from this November’s WBSC Premier 12 tournament.

A final qualifying tournament will be played no later than March 2028 that includes the top two non-yet-qualified teams from the latest Asia Championship, the top two non-yet-qualified teams from the latest European Championship, the highest-placed non-yet-qualified team from the latest Africa Championship and the highest-placed non-yet-qualified team from the latest Oceania Championship.

Meyer was promoted to acting union head last month following the forced resignation of Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman who had led players since 2013. An investigation by the union’s outside counsel discovered evidence that Clark had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee since 2023.

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