Major League Baseball reinforced its deadline by saying there will be a shortened season if no deal on a new collective bargaining agreement is reached by Monday.
And with another day of little movement in negotiations in Jupiter, Fla., that’s beginning to look like a cold reality.
“A deadline is a deadline. Missed games are missed games. Salary will not be paid for those games,” an MLB spokesperson said in a statement.
MLB set the Feb. 28 deadline to allow the regular season to begin on time, March 31.
MLB and the MLBPA met again Wednesday for the third straight day. It was the league’s turn to put forth a counteroffer, which it did – offering to increase the minimum salary by $10,000 per year.
That would put the minimum at $640,000 for 2022; the players are asking for $775,000 in 2022 with $30,000 jumps each season afterward.
The sides also remain far apart on the competitive balance tax (CBT), also known as the luxury tax, threshold and bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. The sides are $95 million apart on the bonus pool. Meanwhile, the CBT has not been broached either of the past two days.
Six of the eight members of the union’s executive subcommittee showed up for talks Wednesday, a group including Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and Francisco Lindor.
The sides are set to meet again Thursday.
–Field Level Media