While the frequency of talks between Major League Baseball and the Players Association picked up Wednesday, the pace of progress continued to be sloth-like and the likelihood of a 162-game season grew dimmer.
For the first time since the owners directed Commissioner Rob Manfred to lock out the players on Dec. 2, the sides spent a third day in a row at the bargaining table. But MLB addressed only one of several core economic issues up for discussion, according to sources familiar with the meeting at a spring-training ballpark in Jupiter, Fla., and took what amounted to a baby step in the players’ direction before engaging in a bit of brinksmanship.
The parties are expected to meet again Thursday, with the players set to volley a revision to their latest proposal. In a meeting with reporters, an MLB spokesman doubled-down on the league’s Feb. 28 deadline by which a collective bargaining agreement must be reached to avoid pushing back a March 31 opening day and canceling games.
If the season doesn’t start on time, players would begin to miss paychecks and owners would lose revenue from missed games. The players have noted that the owners can rescind their lockout at any time, open spring training, and even begin the season while continuing to negotiate. The players also likely would take expanded playoffs — the owners’ most desired issue — off the table if fewer than 162 games are played.
MLB moved $10,000 per year on the minimum salary from its most recent pitch, sources said. But the sides are so far apart that, even with MLB’s adjustment, the minimum salary would top out at $680,000 in 2026, $95,000 less than the players’ requested minimum in 2022.
According to MLB’s updated proposal, the minimum salary would move to $640,000, a 12.2% hike from last season. It would move to $650,000 in 2023, $660,000 in 2024, $670,000 in 2025, and $680,000 in the final year of the agreement. The players are seeking $775,000 this year, $805,000 in 2023, $835,000 in 2024, $865,000 in 2025, and $895,000 in 2026.
Neither side has budged this week from its stance on the competitive-balance (luxury) tax, a key issue in the negotiations. The sides are also at odds over making more two-year players eligible for arbitration and the amount of money in a bonus pool for performance-based increases to pay for pre-arbitration players, among other topics.
