Major League Baseball did not respond well to the MLB Players Association’s updated proposal on Saturday, according to multiple reports.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan notes that multiple officials believe that a deal will not get done by the league’s Monday deadline, which would put Opening Day in serious jeopardy.
Following MLB’s reaction to the union’s proposal, the players are now considering walking away from the negotiating table, according to Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post.
No meeting is immediately scheduled for tomorrow between MLB and MLBPA, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic. If the players do walk away from negotiations with MLB and do not meet tomorrow, it is likely that regular season games would be canceled.
The MLBPA reportedly felt that they made a fair proposal to league owners on Saturday. Janes summarized the offer made by the Players Association to MLB on Twitter.
One additional item that has come to the forefront in recent days is the league’s wish to shorten the window for the implementation of on-field rule changes. The league reportedly wants to be able to implement changes with 45 days notice, instead of the current window of one year's notice. That specific item has not been received well by the players, according to Passan.
Bottom line? Things are not looking good for an on-time start to the regular season in late March. As both sides continue to battle over terms of a new collective bargaining agreement, it is likely that baseball will be playing less than 162 games for the second time in the last three seasons.
