No MLB Deal, Opening Day on Life Support (updated)

MLB lockout update:

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.

MLB has threatened to cancel its March 31 Opening Day without a new deal.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2022

They can’t agree on a couple of things – competitive balance tax, the pre-arbitration bonus pool money, and minimum salary increases. They are furthest apart on the pre-arb money, which MLB offered at $30 million and the players offered at $85 million. They are less far apart on the other two items, which Passan explains here:

The MLBPA's previous offer:

– CBT thresholds at 238/244/250/256/263
– Pre-arb bonus pool at $85M with $5M annual increases
– Minimums at $725K going up $20K a year

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2022

I’d assume we’ll get word sometime this evening that Opening Day is officially being pushed back. We thought this might be the case, despite reports that both sides had made progress on Monday night after a marathon negotiating session.

Oh well. We’re gonna have to wait for Phillies baseball. Let’s get it back to the Eagles, Sixers, Flyers, Union, etc, and then when these guys figure it out, they can let us know.

Edit –

MLB has canceled the first two series of the season.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2022