It was back on March 1 that MLB canceled the start of the 2022 season and opening day amid ongoing labor issues between the league’s owners and its players.
Locked out since early December, the Players Assocaition was not able to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement with owners after a whirlwind of meetings dating back to late February and early March.
That’s when Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the first two series of the regular season were going to be canceled.
Apparently, this is not etched in stone.
According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, MLB and MLBPA lawyers met on Monday and are planning to meet again on Tuesday. In the process, the insider reported that MLB has suggested a Tuesday deadline for three things to take place.
- Full 162-game schedule
- Full pay and service time for players
Any hope for MLB to salvage 162-game season?
Drellich also noted that MLB has told the Players’ Association that it will cancel another week of action if a new collective bargaining agreement is not agreed to on Tuesday. As for the players, one active union member said that he’s “done getting his hopes up.”
This comes on the heels of another report over the weekend suggesting that the season is unlikely to start at any point in April.
There’s continued widespread issues between the owners and players. That list includes collective balance tax, player payrolls, MLB luxury tax threshold, minimum player salaries and service time.
It now appears that the league has moved the proverbial goal posts here. Manfred was absolutely blasted last week after announcing the first two series of the season had been canceled. Imagine the reaction if this lockout lasts into April and beyond.