Major League Baseball and the players’ union have made progress toward resolving the contentious service-time questions for the disrupted 2020 season, putting the parties in position to reach full agreement in the coming days.



The players do not want their service time reduced by a shortened season, knowing it would impede their ability to reach salary arbitration and free agency as quickly as possible. MLB has agreed to grant a full year of service to players who remain active for the entire 2020 season regardless of how many games the schedule includes, according to sources familiar with the discussions.



The two sides have agreed to table discussions on how much service time the players would receive if the COVID-19 crisis results in the worst-case scenario for baseball, the cancellation of the entire season. Both sides desire to play as many games as possible in 2020.



Service time, calculated by the number of days a player is on a roster, forms the...