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Adrian Gonzalez: 2020 season won't happen without full transparency

Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Former big-league All-Star Adrian Gonzalez doesn't think the 2020 Major League Baseball season will happen without transparency between the players and team owners on the league's economic plan.

"I honestly don't see a way to salvage it," Gonzalez, a former member of the MLBPA executive board, said of the 2020 campaign, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

"I think the most frustrating part about that is the fact that (the owners are) going to play this card, and the minute the agreement is made, they're going to ask the players to help them promote the league," he said. "But, again, it goes down to transparency. As far as revenue, what walks in the door and what is sold in the stadium and what is generated via TV, if that is put out there, then you know how much is really involved. But nobody's doing that."

MLB reportedly made a 12-page presentation to players May 16 and informed the union that playing games with prorated salaries and without fans would cost the league $640,000 per contest, with teams in larger markets, like the New York Yankees, taking the biggest hits.

Because of this, owners have shown opposition to paying players prorated salaries, instead reportedly proposing a revenue-sharing plan.

Players apparently won't consider the idea - comparing it to a salary cap - unless owners open their books to the union, something they've never done before.

While negotiations continue, Gonzalez, who last suited up for the New York Mets in 2018, said both sides should look for ways to improve the collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire at the end of the 2021 season.

As for the 2020 campaign, the 38-year-old Gonzalez offered an interesting idea that doesn't include regular big leaguers playing ball.

"Honestly, if I'm the owners, I would just try to have a non-40-man roster play a season and give fans something to watch," he said.

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