MLB Owners Back 2028 Olympic Players

Major League Baseball has secured support from owners to allow its players to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for the first time, ESPN reported. Disagreements with the MLB Players Association over hotel rooms, tickets and a mandatory-participation agreement have complicated the plans.

MLB intends to shut down the sport for 11 days around an All-Star Game on the West Coast that would precede the six-team Olympic baseball tournament at Dodger Stadium.

The United States, Dominican Republic and WBC champion Venezuela have already qualified for the event. The MLBPA has sought terms similar to the agreement the International Olympic Committee reached with the National Hockey League and NHLPA for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.

MLB proposed a mandatory-participation agreement on May 27 that would place noncompliant players on the restricted list without pay or service time from July 12 to Aug.

3. "We made a proposal to the union which included a schedule and a mandatory participation agreement," MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin said. " One week before MLB's May 27 proposal, LA28 sent the MLBPA a memorandum of understanding outlining a potential deal.

LA28 offered 435 additional hotel rooms beyond the 100 reserved by MLB and 100 for the Japanese national team. Its friends-and-family ticket policy allowed athletes to purchase two tickets per game. Four All-Stars told ESPN they would stay in the Olympic Village on UCLA's campus and use hotel rooms for their families.

Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said players want to make the team. MLBPA lawyer Ian Penny wrote in a June 26 email that the union seeks fair treatment to avoid players losing money through expenses or lost commercial rights. LA28 vice president of sports Niccolò Campriani wrote in an email late last week that the package recognizes the significance of MLB players while balancing interests and that no league receives more favorable terms.