PALM BEACH, Fla. — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is optimistic that major leaguers will play in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Manfred, speaking following an owners meeting Thursday, said there are still issues to resolve with the Major League Baseball Players Association before those Olympic aspirations are a reality, but “I think we’re a lot closer to there than we were the last time we talked about it,” he said.
The six-nation baseball tournament will be played from July 13-19 at Dodger Stadium. MLB is planning for an extended All-Star break between July 9 and July 21, with the All-Star Game likely at San Francisco on July 11.
An agreement with the union is needed.
“I sense a lot of momentum towards playing in LA in 2028,” Manfred said. “I think we are going to get over those issues. I think people have come to appreciate that the Olympics on U.S. soil is a unique marketing opportunity for the game. I think we had a lot of players interested in doing it and, you know, I feel pretty good about the idea (that) we’ll get there.”
In addition, an agreement is needed on insurance to cover player contracts for time with Olympic teams.
The United States will have an automatic berth in the both the baseball and softball tournaments and the top two other nations from the Americas in next month’s World Baseball Classic will earn berths.
MLB did not allow players on 40-man rosters to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when Nippon Professional Baseball interrupted its season and Japan beat the U.S. 2-0 in the gold medal game.
Manfred was also asked if the involvement of Casey Wasserman, the prominent businessman and talent agent who has recently lost clients because of his appearance in recently released government files on Jeffrey Epstein, would deter the league from participating in the Olympics. He declined to comment on Wasserman, who is the chairman of the Los Angeles games, saying, “Look, our dealings are not with Casey. Our dealings are with the institution of the Olympics.”
The addition of star outfielder Kyle Tucker by the Los Angeles Dodgers to what already was among the highest payrolls again sparked debate over whether management will propose a salary cap in collective bargaining this year.
Manfred said there hasn’t been much movement in salary cap talks.
Tucker, the right fielder who is considered one of the best players in baseball, is the latest accomplished veteran brought in by the Dodgers, who have three of the top eight current contracts by average annual value. Los Angeles also signed top closer Edwin Díaz to bolster its bullpen.
“Look, I think great teams are always