Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is increasingly confident major league players will compete in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
MLB did not allow players from its 40-man roster to attend the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when Nippon Professional Baseball suspended its season and Japan beat the USA 2-0. in the gold medal game.
MLB has discussed the possibility of extending the All-Star break to allow for the 2028 Games, which run from July 14-30. An agreement with the players' association is required and sponsorship agreements may be affected.
“I'm confident about it. I think the owners have kind of crossed the line in terms of we'd like to do this if we can make it work,” Manfred said Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series. “There are logistical issues that still need to be worked out.”
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the baseball tournament lasted 11 days, including a four-day group stage followed by knockout rounds and culminating with the gold and bronze medal games.
Baseball at the Los Angeles Games will likely have a more condensed format.
“We have made great progress on the Los Angeles 2028 calendar,” Manfred said. “Right now we are discussing with the players association this set of issues.”
Participation in 2028 will most likely be a one-time event. The 2032 Olympic Games will be held in Brisbane, Australia.
“The logistics of Los Angeles, as evidenced by how long we've been talking about this, are complex,” Manfred said. “The odds of us playing in Brisbane are tough, aren't they? Even a lot tougher than Los Angeles.”
The focus has been on postseason pay disparity and whether a second straight World Series championship for the Los Angeles Dodgers would make management more likely to offer a salary cap in labor contract negotiations to replace the current player agreement, which expires in 2026.
Los Angeles ranked among the top baseball spenders this year, projecting its payroll and luxury tax to be $509 million, more than seven times the $69 million of the major league-low Miami Marlins. The Blue Jays are fifth with $266 million in revenue.
No small-market team has won this title since the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
“I don’t think who wins this World Series matters any more than who has won the last five or six,” Manfred said.
Manfred said MLB is moving “as quickly as it can” in the investigations that resulted in Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Claeys and Luis Ortiz being placed on paid leave.
Ortiz has not competed since June 27 and Claeys has not competed since July 26 as part of MLB's investigation into sports betting.
“Obviously our No. 1 priority is protecting the integrity of the game. We think we have great systems in place that allow us to do that,” Manfred said. “We have worked very hard to provide resources for players to feel comfortable and have an outlet when they have issues related to sports betting.”
The head coach of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and a Miami Heat player were arrested Thursday along with more than 30 others as part of a federal gambling investigation.
“The most important thing we can do is make sure we have systems in place that give us access to data that allows you to determine if something abnormal is happening,” Manfred said. “When you get that, you need to do a thorough investigation, make sure you understand exactly what caused that deviation, and then you need to take disciplinary action.”
Manfred expressed satisfaction that 12 of the 30 teams made the playoffs. The size was increased from 10 as part of the 2022 labor agreement after the players association rejected MLB's 14-club plan.
The best-of-three wildcard series began as part of a larger postseason, all played at the higher-seeded team's stadium.
“I really like how things turned out at 12,” Manfred said. “I think the wild-card round, where we play the series like we usually play baseball, was a big improvement.”
Manfred said he hopes MLB can select two expansion teams before his term expires in January 2029, but he won't move forward until the Tampa Bay Rays and the team's new owners reach a deal for a new stadium.
“Obviously we won’t be on the field, but I would like to see the teams selected,” he said. “I’m comfortable with the idea that something good is going to happen in the Tampa Bay region.”
Montreal discussed a bid to create an expansion team to replace the Expos, who became the Washington Nationals for the 2005 season.
“There are certainly other cities in Canada that could be viable candidates for expansion,” Manfred said.
MLB's contracts remain in legal preparation with Comcast's NBCUniversal for the wild card series and Sunday night regular-season games, with Netflix for the Home Run Derby All-Star Game and with Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN. for a regular season package plus market rights for Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado, Minnesota and San Diego.
“We have agreements. We're just working on the detailed forms, and as I've learned over the years, it takes a long time to get detailed broadcast agreements in place,” Manfred said.
Tampa Bay played its home games this year at the New York Yankees' spring training facility at Steinbrenner Field after Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field. Renovations continue and the Rays will play their first home game on April 6, starting a nine-game road trip.
“We hope he'll be ready for the first set at home,” Manfred said. “It will certainly be open very early in the year.”
Shohei Ohtani has helped the Dodgers reach the World Series for several years in a row, attracting record crowds in Japan.
“Shohei, that was by far the biggest game-changer you can imagine in a year. In the LCS, he had probably the best game of all time, and we're lucky to have him here in the World Series,” Manfred said.
