MLB players in the LA Olympics? Rob Manfred says it's being discussed

ARLINGTON, Texas — Major League Baseball is open to the possibility of letting big-league players participate in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, is moving towards an automatic ball-strike system in 2026 and is considering the possibility of having players wear their team uniforms in the All-Star Game, commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday.

Manfred and union executive director Tony Clark spoke for 45 minutes apiece in a media session before the All-Star Game with members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America at the halfway point of their labor deal that expires after the 2026 season.

Casey Wasserman, chairperson of LA 2028, spoke to the owners in February about the idea of interrupting the Major League Baseball season that August and allowing big-league players to participate in the Olympics, Manfred said.

“He was very persuasive," Manfred said. “We’re talking about what can be done? What exactly would it look like? What are the compromises that we would have to make in the term of our seasons? So, I remain open-minded on that topic.

The players are in favor of participating in the Olympics, with stars like Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies openly lobbying to play in the 2028 Games.

“The feedback that we’ve gotten so far from players is such that there is an interest in participating if given an opportunity,” Clark said. "So, we expect, at least as of right now based on the feedback that we’ve gotten, that’ll be a conversation we’ll look to have.

“But the players will determine whether or to what extent that is something that needs to be leaned in on, not just for 2028. I think it’s probably an important discussion to be had beyond 2028, knowing that the opportunity to have [baseball] in 2028 could be a building block toward it being more consistently in the Olympics moving forward.”

Baseball was an Olympic sport from 1992-2008, and then was dropped until the 2021 Games in Tokyo when only players not on 40-man rosters were permitted to participate.

Some other takeaways from the news conferences:

– MLB could test the automatic ball-strike system with robot umpires as part of a challenge system in spring training in 2025, possibly clearing the way for use in 2026.

“If we can get these issues resolved, which would make ’26 a viable possibility,” Manfred said. But is that going to be the year? I’m not going to be flat-footed on that issue.

“We have made material progress [in the minor leagues]. I think that the technology is good to a 100th of an inch. The technology in terms of the path of the ball is imperfect. We do have technical issues surrounding the definition of the strike zone that still need to be worked out."

If the system is implemented, it will include challenges, Manfred and Clark said. The automated strike zone can not go into effect without being passed by the 11-member rules committee.

“The challenge system is the likely landing spot," Clark said, “but nothing has been presented at this point. Hopefully, unlike some of the conversations we’ve had in the past, that dialogue will be heated. …

“There are those that have no interest in it at all. There are those that have concerns even with the challenge system as to how the strike zone itself is going to be considered, what that looks like, how consistent it is going to be, what happens in a world where Wi-Fi goes down in the ballpark or the tech acts up on any given night.

“We’re seeing those issues, albeit in minor league ballparks. We do not want to end up in a world where in a major league ballpark we end up with more questions than answers as to the integrity of that night’s game or the calls associated with it.”

– While several agents believe that a work stoppage could be inevitable after a lockout in 2021-2022, Clark says it’s premature to draw any conclusions.

“We’ll see what is slid across the table," Clark said. “We don’t go into a negotiation looking for work stoppage. We don’t go into a negotiation assuming common ground can’t be found. But we prepare, always, as if that possibility may exist. As we get closer to 2026, and the dialogue starts more formally, we’ll have a greater appreciation for what the league may be in interested in doing and they’ll have a great appreciation for what it is that our players are interested in doing."

– Manfred addressed the possibility of centralizing local TV rights with the recent woes involving regional sports networks.

“Look, when you have the kind of disruption that we have in the media space right now,’’ Manfred said, “there are going to be all sorts of conversations about all sorts of things. It’s certainly a topic that has been discussed. …Those conversations are responsive to what the market is saying to us, particularly on the streaming side.

“When you talk to people in the streaming business, they’re not really interested in buying the state of Wisconsin and two counties in Michigan. They want to be able to stream, quite frankly, all over the U.S. and Canada, and more broadly internationally.

“We know the future is going to be streaming. What we’re hearing from the streamers is that they want a more national product, and we need to be responsible for what people want to buy.’’

— Major League Baseball has recently learned about players’ concerns about threats made against them by gamblers, Manfred said, with players including Arizona D-backs veteran closer Paul Sewald telling USA TODAY Sports about the threats made towards him in recent years.

“If a player receives a threat from any source, on any topic, it’s a matter of concern to use that we take really seriously," Manfred said. “I’ve had players in the last month or so mention this issue to me as one of concern, and we’ve been discussing internally what we should do to be more proactive in this area.’’

– The Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs are the favorites to land the All-Star Game from 2027, with Atlanta hosting next year’s All-Star Game and Philadelphia in 2026. The Cubs last hosted in 1990, Toronto in 1991 and Baltimore in 1993.

– Manfred says he’s confident the Athletics are on target for moving permanently to Las Vegas in 2028, while MLB and the union believe they can address concerns with the hot summer temperatures. Players dealt with the oppressive heat in Arlington, Texas, at their outdoor stadium from 1972 to 2019 before moving to Globe Life Field in 2020.

MLB plans to play as many night games as possible in Sacramento when temperatures are lower.

“We’re trying to limit the distance that would have to be travelled by clubs from Sacramento on getaway days," Manfred said.

– MLB plans to return to historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., after their wildly popular game in June between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, but instead of a regular-season game it could be the East-West Classic exhibition, honoring the Negro Leagues, that took place in May in Cooperstown, N.Y.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB players in Olympics? Rob Manfred says it's being discussed