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President Donald Trump has tried to help college sports, and if it were up to him, he would probably do the same for Major League Baseball.
The league’s current collective bargaining agreement expires in December, and with the parties perhaps as far apart as they have been since 1994, the 2027 season is in limbo.
Many will remember that the 2022 season was delayed due to an owners lockout after the previous collective bargaining agreement expired in December. However, the sentiment at the time among baseball experts was, if you thought that was bad, wait until 2026.
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Rob Manfred is not yet ready for President Donald Trump to get involved in Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement negotiations. (Kevin Dietsch, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Well, 2026 is here and they weren’t kidding. Owners, for the first time since 1994, have formally proposed a salary cap, which players have said is non-negotiable.
Before Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to reporters and one of them asked him if he thought Trump would intervene in the negotiations.
Manfred did not want to “speculate” about Trump’s possible involvement.
“Look, I think it would be wildly inappropriate for me to speculate about what the president of the United States might or might not do in a hypothetical situation,” Manfred said. “We know. He’s a big sports fan and very knowledgeable about the business of sports, so it doesn’t surprise me.”
Manfred said, however, that Trump is “interested” but doesn’t seem to want his help yet.
“Behind that, I’m going to pass,” he said.
Last month, Trump said it’s “shocking” that the league still doesn’t have a salary cap.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred speaks during the renovation of the 2026 All-Star Legacy Multi-Service Veterans Center at the Multi-Service Veterans Center on Monday, July 13, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB PLAYERS AND OWNERS HONORED FOR POTENTIAL OLYMPIC PARTICIPATION, INCLUDING PUNISHMENT FOR REJECTION: REPORT
“If you don’t have a salary cap, you don’t have sport. They can’t help themselves. In sports, they can’t help themselves. Football has a salary cap. They should have done it a long time ago. I know so much about sports, they should have done it a long time ago…
“In Major League Baseball, it’s shocking, frankly, that they didn’t set a cap many years ago. They had the opportunity to do it and they blew it.”
The White House did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Major League Baseball is in serious danger of losing games, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season, for the first time since the 1995 season was shortened to 144 games when the players’ strike was extended into the following year. The 1994 postseason was even canceled and the sport was hanging by a thread.
Now, baseball is experiencing another boom, as rule changes implemented by Manfred have helped games move more quickly, drawing more fans to stadiums. Attendance could increase for the fourth consecutive year for the first time since 2004-07. There is currently no pace to do it, but summer is still young.
“The best way to lose momentum is to stand still,” Manfred said.
It was a rough start to the MLB Draft for commissioner Rob Manfred as he trashed the name of first overall pick Roch Cholowsky. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Earlier this year, Trump held a roundtable on college sports and signed an executive order focused on “saving college sports.” Unlike the NHL, NBA and NFL, the MLB has never had a salary cap.
