A rookie at the major league minimum would make a higher percentage of his salary than multimillionaire stars like Mike Trout or Gerrit Cole under a sliding-scale proposal by big league teams that players found ``extremely disappointing.''
Major League Baseball made the proposal to the players' union on Tuesday during a digital meeting rather than the 50-50 revenue-sharing plan that owners initially approved for their negotiators on May 11.
In addition, the union said ``the sides also remain far apart on health and safety protocols'' aimed at starting the pandemic-delayed season around the Fourth of July.
Salaries in the major leagues range from $563,500 at the minimum to $36 million each for Trout, the three-time MVP outfielder on the Los Angeles Angels, and Cole, the pitcher signed by the New York Yankees as a free agent.
According to a study by The AP, 369 of 899 players have salaries of $600,000 or less, according to the rosters frozen in March.
with files from Associated Press