The situation of the work stoppage in Major League Baseball (MLB) reached the deadline self-imposed by the management, in which it will be defined whether games of the 2022 season are canceled.
On February 28, work was done until its last second and the Major Leagues together with the Player’s Union were unable to end the lockout imposed since the first days of December.
The conversations that lasted for more than 16 hours managed to bring both parties closer to each other to try to save the entire season.
“We made progress,“ a league spokesman told reporters covering the long day in Jupiter, Florida. “We want to exhaust all possibilities to reach an agreement.“
“They couldn’t make us a CBT proposal (competitive balance tax) last night, so we agreed to extend the deadline to exhaust every option.
“The MLBPA had a decidedly different tone today and made proposals inconsistent with the prior discussions.
We will be making our best offer before the 5 p.m. deadline.“
According to information from USA Today, MLB and the Union recognized that this has been the day in which the negotiations have progressed the most.
Some of the Rumored Agreements
Apparently, the two parties agreed that 12 teams will compete on the map to win the World Series starting in the next postseason.
The owners longed for 14 organizations, almost half of those that make up the Major Leagues.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Twitter that the league has offered more player-friendly provisions than in the past on issues like the league’s minimum salary, the pre-arbitration player bonus fund and the competitive balance tax.
After offering $640,000 as a minimum salary, MLB raised it to $675,000 for players within their first three contract years in the best baseball in the world.
Pre-arbitration pool increased to $25 million (previously offered $20 million), and the luxury tax at $220 million (from $214 million).
The union initially wanted players with two years of service to be eligible for salary arbitration, but dropped this position in negotiations.
The Season Is Still at Risk
Given the reality of the negotiations, the players are beginning to see it unlikely that the season will start on time; so far, spring training camps are closed.
Bryce Harper, the superstar outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, has already started looking to settle into Japan’s NPB.
In a story posted on his Instagram account, Harper posted an edited photo of himself in a Yomiuri Giants uniform with a blunt message.
“Aye @yomiuri.giants you up? Got some time to kill. I know you got @borascorp number. Let’s talk”, he can read in the message.
What seems like an innocent joke could become a big problem for MLB.
The work stoppage could lead to the flight of players to other leagues in the world.
In guidance provided by the Players Association to agents before the work stoppage, players could challenge Major League management by playing in any other league in the world during the lockout.
Baseball Has Changed Forever
Baseball has changed forever, even when the parties reach an agreement in the next few hours and the regular season is carried out according to the calendar.
According to ESPN’s Howard Bryant, “each day of this lockout has exposed a loss. The last few months have reinforced a certain ugliness in the sport.
It won’t kill baseball because players always save it, but it has made it a little less appealing, seeing it a little less given.
It’s one thing to watch a business fight over money, and quite another when the people running the business seem to have little respect for it“.
Players would lose $20.5 million in salary for each day of the season that is canceled, according to a study by The Associated Press, and the 30 teams would lose large sums that are harder to pin down.
Not since Aug. 30, 2002, has MLB come this close to losing regular-season games to labor strife.