Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that there has been “no change” to the start of spring training.
Spring training is scheduled to begin in less than a week, with pitchers and catchers due to report Wednesday.
Manfred made the comments at a press conference in Orlando, Fla., site of the owners’ meetings that just ended.
MLB and the MLBPA reportedly are not close on a new collective bargaining agreement, leaving many to expect that Manfred would announce a delay to the start of spring training.
Not so. The league is poised to make an offer to the union this Saturday.
“The status of spring training is no change right now,” Manfred said. “We’re going to have a conversation with the MLBPA about the calendar. We understand where the calendar is. But until we have that conversation and until we see how this session on Saturday goes, it’s no change.”
Manfred added that it’s his hope to have a minimum of four weeks for spring training. He also expressed confidence that MLB will field its full regular-season schedule, beginning as scheduled on March 31.
“I’m an optimist, and I believe we will have an agreement in time to play our regular-season schedule.”
Manfred said MLB has agreed to a universal designated hitter and eliminating draft pick compensation.
The owners and players have met four times since the lockout began Dec. 2. Reports said the two sides had a “heated” 90-minute meeting last week with neither side feeling there had been any progress.
Their longest meeting reportedly took place Jan. 24, when the sides discussed raising the minimum salary and incentivizing teams not to manipulate prospects’ service time, but they didn’t come to an agreement.
The MLBPA on Friday declined to enter mediation to attempt to end the MLB lockout.
This is the first baseball work stoppage since the strike that began Aug. 12, 1994, led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and didn’t resolve until April 2, 1995. Since then, the players and owners had reached five collective bargaining agreements without any shutdowns.
–Field Level Media