Major League Baseball’s owner-imposed lockout, in its 98th day, faces another decisive point Wednesday. Representatives from the MLB Players Association and the league are resuming negotiations after the two sides talked and swapped proposals until 3 a.m. ET Tuesday. MLB has reportedly set another self-imposed deadline this week: If a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement is reached Wednesday, players will report to spring training this weekend and play a full, 162-game season in 2022; if there’s no deal Wednesday, more regular season games will be canceled.
What’s become known as the “core economic issues,” a complicated sticking point in negotiations for almost the entirety of the labor stoppage, no longer seem to be the primary impediment to a new collective bargaining agreement. Rather, it’s the league’s desire to implement an international draft that seems to be the final major hurdle. However, the union at this juncture seems unlikely to agree to it because a sizable block of MLBPA membership is opposed to an international draft:
While the union in the past has used changes to the domestic draft as bargaining chits even though draftees aren’t yet members of the players association, the implementation of an international draft — which MLB reportedly says would not begin until 2024 — may be more complicated for reasons stated by Rosenthal above. Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres is one such MLBPA member who recently voiced his concerns, and he’s surely not alone in those concerns. Threading that needle will no doubt be complicated for union leadership and may not be possible.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred already canceled the first two series of the 2022 season and postponed Opening Day last week after talks between the two sides fizzled March 1. Those games, however, could be made up and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale says Opening Day would be April 6 or 7 for teams if there’s a Wednesday deal. Owners moved on some key issues Tuesday (more on that here), and in their proposal they raised the threshold of baseball’s Competitive Balance Tax to $230 million in 2022. The MLBPA has proposed a CBT threshold starting at $238 million in 2022, with that number rising to $263 million by Year 5 of the CBA (MLB’s number would only rise to $242 million in Year 5). Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported that move from MLB came with “strings attached” and MLB would want an extra level of CBT penalties and, as noted, the ability to implement an international draft.
Will we get a deal Wednesday? CBS Sports will be providing live updates and analysis from the negotiations. You can follow along below.