Major League Baseball owners are on board with allowing players to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which -- in tandem with the 2028 All-Star Game -- would require the season to pause for 11 days, but the players' union is not yet on board because of a host of concerns, ESPN reports.
Regarding those sticking-point issues, Jeff Passan writes:
"Potential complications have arisen during negotiations, which involve a complex web of issues that include hotel rooms, tickets, insurance, NIL rights and the mandatory-participation agreement proposed by the league that would place players who run afoul of requirements on the restricted list, without pay or service time, from July 12 to Aug. 3, according to a copy of the league's proposal obtained by ESPN."
The MLBPA, the union representing all players on each team's 40-player roster, has countered with its own proposal for participation. Negotiations will continue, and although there is pressure from Olympic organizers to reach a resolution soon, the reality is that there's still plenty of time for both sides to reach an agreement. There is also the backdrop of enthusiasm among some prominent MLB players for having their ranks participate in the Olympics for the first time. In the past, just amateurs and non-40-man roster minor leaguers could play in the Olympics.
The 2028 Olympic baseball games -- structured as a six-team tournament -- are set for July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium. According to ESPN, the schedule during the 11-day pause would unfold as such:
- July 9, 2028: First half of MLB season ends;
- July 10: Home Run Derby;
- July 11: All-Star Game;
- July 13: Six-team Olympic baseball tournament begins;
- July 19: Medal games;
- July 21: MLB season restarts.
As the host country, the United States would receive an automatic spot in the baseball tournament.
Baseball was a full-time Olympic sport from 1992 to 2008. It was brought back for the 2020 Games in Japan but not included in 2024. Cuba has won three gold medals (1992, 1996, 2004) and South Korea (2008), Japan (2020), and USA (2000) have one gold medal apiece.
