Major League Baseball’s owner-imposed lockout, in its 98th day, faces another decisive point Wednesday. Representatives from the MLB Players Association and the league are resuming negotiations after the two sides talked and swapped proposals until 3 a.m. ET Tuesday. MLB has reportedly set another self-imposed deadline this week: If a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement is reached Wednesday, players will report to spring training this weekend and play a full, 162-game season in 2022; if there’s no deal Wednesday, more regular season games will be canceled.
In a somewhat promising development, what’s become known as the “core economic issues,” a complicated sticking point in negotiations for almost the entirety of the labor stoppage, no longer seem to be the primary impediment to a new collective bargaining agreement. Rather, it’s the league’s desire to implement an international draft that seems to be the final major hurdle. Details:
While the union in the past has used changes to the domestic draft as bargaining chits even though draftees aren’t yet members of the players association, the implementation of an international draft — which MLB reportedly says would not begin until 2024 — may be more complicated. That’s because the very substantial bloc of MLB players from the Dominican Republic and elsewhere may view an international draft as a pronounced negative. Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres is one such MLBPA member who recently voiced his concerns, and he’s surely not alone in those concerns. Threading that needle will no doubt be complicated for union leadership.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred already canceled the first two series of the 2022 season and postponed Opening Day last week after talks between the two sides fizzled March 1. Those games, however, could be made up and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale says Opening Day would be April 6 or 7 for teams if there’s a Wednesday deal. Owners moved on some key issues Tuesday (more on that here), and in their proposal they raised the threshold of baseball’s Competitive Balance Tax to $230 million in 2022. The MLBPA has proposed a CBT threshold starting at $238 million in 2022, with that number rising to $263 million by Year 5 of the CBA (MLB’s number would only rise to $242 million in Year 5). Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported that move from MLB came with “strings attached” and MLB would want an extra level of CBT penalties and, as noted, the ability to implement an international draft.
Will we get a deal Wednesday? CBS Sports will be providing live updates and analysis from the negotiations. You can follow along below.
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Exciting live-action sports footage:
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We should know where we stand soon
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Some more details on potential international draft
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Let’s check in on Myles Straw
Here’s a recent tweet from Cleveland Guardians outfielder Myles Straw.
As we all know, two eyes emojis either means a new CBA has been agreed to or Myles has located a new favorite lunch spot. Hopefully we find out which before long.
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More details on 2022 season structure
It’s still hypothetical at this point, but …
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All quiet for now
Things are much quieter on the negotiating front than they were last week before the league canceled games. Both sides are at their respective offices in New York, just a few blocks away from each other. MLB appears to be fine tuning its international draft proposal, while the players discuss the international draft and other topics amongst themselves.
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More on international draft
MLB saying that an international draft would not start until 2024 comes shortly after David Ortiz spoke out about it to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Ortiz, a Dominican baseball legend, says if an international draft happens, it needs to happen “slowly.”
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Some international draft clarity
If the MLB and MLBPA agree to implement an international draft, that event won’t take place until 2024, per Tim Healey of Newsday.
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Free agency news? Free agency news
Jon Heyman of MLB Network dropped this non-lockout update Wednesday morning about the Yankees’ interest in Carlos Correa, among others. All three players listed here are represented by Scott Boras, so maybe the superagent thinks free agency could re-open soon.
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Where things stand
A deal is not necessarily imminent, but the two sides currently appear closer to an agreement than at any other time in the process to date. Per multiple reports, an international draft — which MLB wants and players are debating — is the biggest remaining hurdle.
If there is a deal today, it appears players would report this weekend for spring training and a full, 162-game season could start on April 6.
MLB has moved on economic issues when it introduced an international draft in its proposal, so things could fall apart again if the players turn down the draft.
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What the regular season might look like if the lockout ends today
Some details from Bob Nightengale:
Opening Day had been scheduled for March 31.
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International draft details
Some additional info:
It would be interesting to hear the league explain why international draftees should have lower slotted signing bonuses than domestic draftees do.
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Last hurdle?
The international draft, which MLB has pushed for previously but was not a focal point of these CBA talks until lately, could be one of the last issues standing between the two sides and a deal, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
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TV $
MLB’s new “Friday Night Baseball” deal with Apple TV was announced Tuesday. The league is also nearing a deal with NBC to broadcast games on Peacock. Those two TV deals are worth $115 million annually, per Forbes.
“If you look at a purchase price of franchises, the cash that’s put in during the period of ownership and then what they sold for, historically, the return on those investments is below what you get in the stock market,” commissioner Rob Manfred said last month.
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Some owner reaction
Worth remembering MLB reportedly said eight days ago that their “best” offer was much lower in many of the key economic areas.
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FTJ calls out international draft
Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. spoke with Dominican news outlet El Caribe on Wednesday morning. He shared his thoughts on an international draft, which he said would “kill” baseball in the D.R.
“The draft is going to kill baseball in the Dominican Republic,” Tatis told the outlet. “It is going to kill what baseball is in the Caribbean. It will affect us a lot, because there will be many young people who used to give them the opportunity to get a bonus and with the draft it will not be the same,” he added.
His quote was translated online from Spanish. The full story is below:
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MLB sets soft afternoon ‘deadline’
Not a big surprise here. Like last week after a long night of talks, MLB wants to make a decision by this afternoon on canceling another round of games, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
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What would international draft look like?
MLB is again pushing for an international draft, and details emerged late last week on what one might look like if it comes to fruition:
- International players – i.e., those outside of the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico – would be eligible for the draft starting at age 16.
- The draft would span 20 rounds.
- Each draft slot would have an assigned signing bonus figure. The top overall pick would receive a signing bonus of $5.25 million.
- The deadline to sign would be three weeks after the completion of the draft.
- Teams could sign an unlimited number of undrafted international prospects.
- Teams would be permitted to trade international draft picks.
- Teams could earn additional picks by drafting and signing players from countries outside the typical international pipeline.
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