A single trade deadline, All-Star Game Election Day and million-dollar bonus for the Home Run Derby winner will be implemented in 2019 -- while a three-batter minimum for pitchers and roster expansion will happen in 2020 -- as part of a deal Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are set to announce Thursday, sources familiar with the agreement told ESPN.
Spurred by labor-relations discord amid a second consecutive free-agent market that has left players disappointed, the mid-collective-bargaining-agreement negotiations represent a step forward between two sides that had squabbled privately and publicly. Perhaps the most important part of the deal isn't the elimination of August trades, the tweaking of All-Star Game starter selections, the incentives for stars to participate in the derby, the elimination of one-out relievers or the addition of a 26th player next year.