Negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement have slowed since MLB and the Players Association left Jupiter, Florida early last week. Once Rob Manfred officially cancelled the first two series of the 2022 season, talks went from every day to several days in between.
On a positive note, bargaining has not completely stopped, as some might have expected at the time. Instead, each side has taken a few days to evaluate the situation before meeting informally and gauging interest on various offers.
Sunday will look a little different, as the MLBPA is reportedly planning to make the first official offer since the4 two sides left Florida and their daily negotiations, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic:
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball’s negotiating team — Dan Halem, Pat Houlihan, Morgan Sword and Reed MacPhail — has arrived. The players today are expected to make a proposal to the league, formalizing previously discussed positions and introducing some new ones.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 6, 2022
There are two ways to look at a formal proposal like this. The first is positivity at how quickly a formal offer is being made after the disrespectful showing by MLB in Florida. The union absolutely could have gone silent, but this shows their commitment to negotiating.
The second way to look at this is with the negative lens that a deal is extremely unlikely to be done today or in the next couple days. Based on the report, MLBPA’s offer is likely going to include some minor sacrifices while still maintaining the larger goals of an increased luxury tax threshold and minimum salaries.
There had been talks in recent days about MLBPA moving to 14 teams, but with very strict rules on what the first round of the playoffs would look like and significantly increased minimum salaries and CBT thresholds.
Throughout the day, we’ll likely be updated on the content of the proposal and how close or far away it puts us from a deal and the return of baseball.
MLBPA launches fund for workers
MLBPA announced that they are launching a $1 million fund to support workers being affected by the lockout. MLB is expected to do the same, but has not yet made a formal announcement of it.
“There are a lot of people who make our game great. Many aren’t seen or heard, but they are vital to the entertainment experience of our games,” MLBPA executive board leaders Andrew Miller and Max Scherzer said. “Unfortunately, they will also be among those affected by the owner-imposed lockout and their cancellation of games. Through this fund, we want to let them know they have our support.”