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Another meeting, another stalemate.
After MLB and the MLBPA met for a bit over an hour and a half at MLBPA headquarters in midtown on Sunday — with the union making its first proposal since talks broke down in Jupiter, Fla. on Tuesday — MLB responded by saying the two sides were “deadlocked.”
And with the negative tone coming from both sides over the last week, it’s clear more regular-season games could soon be in jeopardy.
As MLB’s lockout extends into a third month and with the first two series of the regular season already canceled, the lead negotiators for both sides, MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem and MLBPA lead counsel Bruce Meyer, also met briefly one-on-one following the formal meeting.
It’s up to MLB to schedule the next meeting.
After Sunday’s meeting, MLB spokesman Glen Caplin responded to the MLBPA proposal, saying: “We were hoping to see some movement in our direction to give us additional flexibility and get a deal done quickly. The Players Association chose to come back to us with a proposal that was worse than Monday night and was not designed to move the process forward. On some issues, they even went backwards. Simply put, we are deadlocked. We will try to figure out how to respond, but nothing in this proposal makes it easy.”
MLB sources indicated the union had previously offered more movement on the pre-arbitration pool during negotiations on Monday than the $5 million they offered to give up on Sunday.
Union sources noted concessions the players have made since negotiations opened before the lockout regarding Super 2 arbitration, age-based free agency, reduction of revenue sharing, non-monetary CBT penalties, wearing patches and expanded playoffs, as well as certain rule changes.
While there were incremental changes, there remains a large gap in some of the most significant areas, including the competitive balance tax and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. And the union again rejected MLB’s proposal for an international draft.
Where there was some movement — albeit quite small — the sides are discussing the formation of a joint committee that would allow the league to make on-field changes within a 45-day window after proposal if agreed to by a joint committee, but only for three potential rule changes: a pitch clock, larger bases and defensive shifts, but not before the 2023 season. And the players rejected putting a league-sought change for robot umpires in the package. Under the previous collective bargaining agreement, there was a year-long waiting period.
On the financial side, the MLBPA dropped their ask from $85 million to $80 million in the pre-arbitration pool, leaving the sides $50 million apart.
The players association also agreed to putting some non-tax penalties into the CBT thresholds, but there was no movement on the thresholds.
The players are seeking an increase to $238 million for the first season, with an increase to $244 million, $250 million, $256 million and $263 million in the ensuing years of the deal.
MLB wants the thresholds at $220 million for the next three seasons, with an increase to $224 million in 2025 and $230 million in 2026.
The union continued to reject an international draft and remained at $725,000 for the minimum salary and an expanded postseason of 12 teams — and a 14-team postseason is still not off the table.
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