Manfred: MLB players likely to join 2028 LA Olympic baseball

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Saturday that he is increasingly confident that big league players will participate in baseball at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as league officials, the players association and LA28 work on a calendar and logistical plan that could pause the major league season. Manfred made the remarks before Game 2 of the World Series in Toronto as talks continued over an extended All Star break and an Olympic schedule that could begin before the Games' opening ceremony.

MLB has discussed several concepts to make participation feasible, including a single, extended break in July that would accommodate the All Star Game and Olympic competition and limit coast-to-coast travel for star players. One idea under consideration would keep marquee players on the West Coast for a fortnight by staging the All Star Game in San Francisco and compressing the Olympic baseball tournament into a shorter window. Manfred cautioned that a final agreement would require approval from the players association and could affect existing sponsor arrangements.

"I am positive about it. I think that the owners have kind of crossed the line in terms of, we'd like to do...