Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo and Tim Kelly will be tracking the latest breaking news surrounding the MLB lockout all week long.
Saturday, Feb. 26: As we tick closer and closer to the Feb. 28 deadline that the league has set to avoid the cancellation of any regular season games, Saturday seemingly was not a productive day in negations.
Evan Drellich of The Athletic obtained MLB’s proposal on the luxury tax threshold, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a willingness to move from the league:
MLB’s proposed CBT first tiers
2022: 214m (same as previous)
2023: 215m (increase of $1m)
2024: 216m (same as previous)
2025: 218m (same as previous)
2026: 222m (same as previous)— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 26, 2022
Jon Heyman of Audacy Sports hears that “there’s a lot of negativity about today,” adding that the MLB Players Association is adamant about the luxury tax thresholds rising in the new CBA, while the penalties for those who surpass it remain the same from the 2017-2021 CBA.
As you can see above, the league doesn’t appear willing to raise the luxury tax thresholds much, if at all. The luxury tax threshold in 2021 was $210 million, and the amounts proposed by the league are very small increases from that, especially when you account for inflation and MLB’s proposal including increased penalties.
Friday, Feb. 25: Rob Manfred attended Friday’s bargaining session in Florida, marking the first time the commissioner of baseball made an appearance during a negotiation session since the lockout began. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark has been present for in-person negotiations since Monday. Manfred and Clark reportedly met one-on-one.
The two sides reportedly made significant progress in one area: the draft lottery. No deal was reached, according to reports, but the two sides are close to settling that issue. Key issues such as the competitive balance tax, salary arbitration and service-time manipulation are still up for grabs.
An MLB spokesperson told Evan Drellich of The Athletic that all spring training games through March 7 have been canceled. March 8 is the earliest date in which the spring training schedule can begin.
The two sides will meet again beginning at noon on Saturday.
Thursday, Feb 24: The MLBPA offered tweaks to its amateur draft and service-time manipulation proposal. Key subjects such as the collective bargaining tax and arbitration eligibility were not addressed in the players proposal. Per the Boston Globe, MLB expressed that the league has “run out of ideas.”
The two sides will meet again Friday.
Wednesday, Feb. 23: MLB put forth a counterproposal on the third-straight day of negotiations in Florida. The league reportedly raised its minimum salary proposal by $10,000, but the most notable bit of news from today came from an MLB spokesperson who confirmed that missed games will not be made up at a later time. If Opening Day is canceled, the regular season will not be 162-games long.
“Missed games are missed games. Feb. 28 is the deadline,” an MLB spokesperson told Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe.
The sides are expected to resume negotiations on Thursday. MLB’s deadline to reach a new agreement to start the regular season on March 31 is Feb. 28.
Update 5:50 p.m. ET: Per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, MLB suggested requesting assistance from a federal mediator. The union rejected the request. Both sides have to agree in order for a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to intervene in the sport’s lockout. MLB formally requested assistance from a federal mediator three weeks ago.
Tuesday, Feb. 22: MLB and the MLBPA met for a second consecutive day. The MLBPA presented a counteroffer to the league in which the players reportedly tweaked its proposals on the draft lottery, “Super Two” arbitration eligibility and the minimum salary.
The league and the players union reportedly held a smaller side session during Tuesday’s negotiation session. Deputy commissioner and the league’s top negotiator Dan Halem along with Rockies owner Dick Monfort met with MLBPA lead negotiator Bruce Meyer and Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, a member of the union’s executive subcommittee.
The two sides are scheduled to meet again on Wednesday.
Monday, Feb. 21: With seven days to go before MLB’s Feb. 28 deadline to reach a new agreement to start the regular season on time, the league and the players met at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. The bargaining session reportedly lasted several hours with both sides spending most of that time caucusing amongst each other, which is typical in labor negotiation sessions.
According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, MLB proposed to increase its pre-arbitration bonus pool offer from $15 to $20 million and to expand the league’s proposed draft lottery from three teams to four. The MLBPA is seeking a $115 million bonus pool split amongst 150 players along with an eight-team weighted draft lottery.
The two sides did not discuss the competitive balance tax, per Drellich. Meetings are expected to resume Tuesday.
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