Rob Manfred promised a “good proposal” Saturday, as Major League Baseball returned to the bargaining table opposite the MLB Players Association. The general reaction from players who were locked out by the commissioner on Dec. 2: Not good enough.
And now, not only is spring training all but certain to be delayed, but an on-time start to the regular season may be in peril.
In the parties’ first meeting on core economics in 11 days, representatives of MLB and the owners made a wide-ranging proposal that moved slightly in the players’ direction, though still nowhere near the midpoint between the sides, on minimum salary, the competitive-balance (luxury) tax threshold, and a bonus pool for entry-level (pre-arbitration) players, among other issues, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the talks. The union is expected to review the offer and decide on next steps, but sources characterized the players as underwhelmed by the changes.
Pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training Tuesday and Wednesday. Although MLB hasn’t formally announced a delay and the owners could vote to rescind the lockout at any time, Manfred said Thursday that camps will not open until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached and ratified.
The focus now shifts to the regular season. Opening day is scheduled for March 31. Based on Manfred’s stated timeline of a few days from a deal to the opening of camps and a spring training that lasts at least four weeks, the sides likely have about 10-12 days to come to an agreement. Manfred said last week that missing regular-season games would constitute “a disastrous outcome for this industry.”
Saturday’s meeting was never expected to produce an agreement. But both sides were hopeful that the first proposal from MLB since Jan. 25 would lead to a narrowing of the chasm that exists between them on most economics-related topics, particularly pertaining to higher pay for young players and competitive balance. If the sides are any closer, the movement appears to be minimal.
Among the changes in MLB’s proposal, according to sources:
— The luxury-tax threshold in the final three years of the five-year CBA would be nudged to $216 million, $218 million, and $222 million from $214 million, $216 million, and $220 million. (The mark would remain at $214 million this year and next.) The players have sought a $245 million threshold this year.
— Also with regard to the CBT, draft-pick penalties for surpassing the threshold were lessened slightly from the owners’ previous proposal, but the actual tax rates remained worse than in the existing agreement. The league has said a hike in the tax rates is necessary to offset its concession to eliminate draft-pick compensation for free agents who receive a qualifying offer.
— MLB offered two options on the minimum salary: $630,000 for first-year major leaguers with raises possible at teams’ discretion in the second and third years, an increase from $570,500 in 2021, but a figure that remains lower than the NFL ($660,000), NHL ($750,000), and NBA ($925,258); or fixed salaries of $615,000, $650,000, and $725,000 (up from $700,000 in the previous proposal). The players have been seeking a $775,000 minimum.
— An increase to $15 million (from $10 million) to the bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. In their most recent proposal, made on Feb. 1, the players pitched a $100 million bonus pool, down from $105 million.
MLB’s proposal covered other economic issues but didn’t touch on revenue sharing, a point of contention in the negotiations. The players want a reduction of revenue-sharing dollars to owners who don’t reinvest the money in their rosters. Manfred said last week that changes to the existing revenue-sharing system “will, without question, lead to less competition, not more.”
Saturday marked the 73rd day of the lockout but only the fifth in-person bargaining session on economics since the end of November. MLB recently requested federal mediation, but the players declined third-party intervention and asked that the league return to the table with the counterproposal that was finally made Saturday.
“You’re always one breakthrough away from making an agreement,” Manfred said Thursday. “That’s the art of this process. Somebody makes a move. That’s why we’ll make additional moves on Saturday that creates flexibility on the other side, and what seemed like a big gap on this topic or that topic isn’t such a big gap anymore.”
Big gaps remain. Where the situation goes from here is unclear. This much is all but certain: It won’t lead to Florida and Arizona for spring training this week.
