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March 10 update: Well, it only took one day after the additional postponement for MLB and MLBPA to reach an agreement. It looks like baseball is back. Opening Day is set for April 7, per Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers.
Players can report to spring-training camps as early as tomorrow. Opening Day is expected to be April 7, as @JesseRogersESPN first reported. Transactions unfreeze upon ratification, which is expected to come as early as today, meaning free agents can sign and trades can occur.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 10, 2022
BREAKING: Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor deal, sources tell ESPN. While it still needs to be ratified by both parties, that is expected to be a formality, and when it is:
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 10, 2022
Baseball is back.
March 9 update: MLB has postponed Opening Day 2022 until at least April 14, and there’s no guarantee games will start that day as it is only the first potential postponement. What’s certain is there will be no baseball in March.
MLB has postponed Opening Day until at least April 14
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 9, 2022
March 4 update: There’s some things the player’s union and MLB need to work on, but an expanded postseason field looks to be one of the points of contention when the sides attempt to resume talks on a CBA.
Sources: As the two sides look to jump-start the CBA talks, the union has approached MLB with an offer to re-open talks on the 14-team postseason field, with the idea it can exchange this for more flexibility on the CBT numbers and other issues.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 4, 2022
March 1 update: Well, it’s not looking for baseball fans and bettors when it comes to the start of the season happening soon. The commissioner has basically said he’s ready to scrap games, which means the original date for Opening Day is not likely to happen.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he will cancel regular-season games.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2022
March 1 update: There’s no deal ahead of MLB’s 5 p.m. ET deadline, which means Opening Day 2022 is very much in jeopardy.
BREAKING: MLBPA player leaders agreed unanimously not to accept MLB's final proposal, and there will be no deal on a new collective-bargaining agreement before MLB's 5 p.m. ET deadline, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2022
MLB has threatened to cancel its March 31 Opening Day without a new deal.
February 25 update: MLB announced that spring training games March 6 and 7 have been postponed due to the owners’ lockout out of the players. The owners and players continue meeting in Jupiter, Florida to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement.
February 18 update: MLB has officially postponed Spring Training games through March 5 as the lockout between the league and MLBPA continues.
Major League Baseball has postponed spring training games through March 5. Which was obvious, of course, but it's now official as the league prepares to start meeting with the MLB Players Association on Monday as collective-bargaining negotiations finally start to ramp up.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 18, 2022
February 17 update: It seems like MLBPA was willing to concede some points regarding arbitration eligibility for players for a bump in the bonus pool but MLB is not willing to go there. The lockout doesn’t look to be ending at any point soon.
In their proposal today, the union withdrew their proposal for all 2+ players to be arbitration eligible, but proposed Super 2s expand from 22% to 80%. Put another way: from 100% to 80% of 2+ players arbitration eligible.
— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) February 17, 2022
Also proposed more money for the pre-arb bonus pool under the reasoning that it would apply to more players. From $100 million to $115. The top WAR players who would be eligible expands from 30 players to 150.
— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) February 17, 2022
Major League Baseball has officially delayed the start of 2022 Spring Training. There was no official announcement, but pitchers and catchers were scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, February 15, and that’s not happening.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has continued to insist the 2022 regular season can start on time, but it’s hard to see that happening. Opening Day is scheduled for Thursday, March 31. There have been reports the league would want a minimum of a four-week spring training to get the season started. That would mean getting spring training started no later than the first week of March, which is two weeks away.
The two sides have made modest progress, but the economics remain far apart. MLB made its most recent proposal on February 12, and reports after that meeting indicated the players were “unimpressed” by the owners’ proposal.
The most recent news around that offer came from ESPN in which Jeff Passan reported the league wants to have the power to eliminate hundreds of minor league playing jobs through a reduction of the Domestic Reserve List. That list governs the number of minor league players a team can roster at any time, and the league reportedly wants to reduce the number from 180 to 150 at some point in the future.
The union does not represent minor league players, but the negotiations cover areas that impact those players, including the amateur draft and the international signing system. The two sides have agreed on a 20-round amateur draft, per Passan. This all comes as a class-action lawsuit concerning low wages works its way through the federal court system.