For the first time in six weeks, owners and players came together for a bargaining meeting, but as expected, very little progress was made in discussions. Major League Baseball did come to the table with a new proposal, but it was not met with a positive reaction from the players.
Baseball labor update: There is no deal. There never was going to be one today. MLB made a proposal. The reaction among the players was not positive. Few on either side expected it to be. The question is how soon the MLBPA counters. Spring training starting on time is in peril.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2022
According to Passan, here are some of the substantial things the league included in their new deal.
Plenty more coming in a story at ESPN but the broad strokes of MLB's proposal, per sources:
– Funnel additional money to all players with 2+ years service
– Award draft picks to teams that don't manipulate service of successful top prospects
– Tweaks to proposed draft lottery— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2022
Unfortunately, this looks to be headed to where everyone thought it might before it all began. The MLBPA hopefully will counter sooner rather than later, but I highly doubt it will be anything the owners will be pleased with. They will reject the deal and then it could be weeks before another proposal is made.
The only thing that will push these sides closer together is the start of the season. Billionaire owners believe they hold all of the cards, and they do, because they can afford to delay the season or skip the season entirely. Now, I don’t even think they are shortsighted enough to postpone an entire season, but they will surely force the player’s hand by dragging this into the early spring. Eventually, the two sides will come to an agreement, but spring training and some regular season games are undoubtedly in jeopardy.
Pingback: Braves: How Much Longer Will This Lockout Last? - ATL Blaze Radio