Negotiations on Sunday between the owners of Major League Baseball and the Players’ Association failed to resolve the impasse that has paralyzed the circuit for 88 days.
According to the daily “USA Today”, the two camps discussed for many hours. They decided to take an early evening break and resume talks on Monday.
No formal proposal has reportedly been made and the two sides are reportedly still far apart over important issues like luxury tax, minimum wage and bonuses paid to players not eligible for salary arbitration.
Circuit representatives, however, said it was “a productive day.”
Monday is also the day that the major leagues had targeted to save the 162-game season and the first day of activities on March 31. The owners’ argument is that there would be no time to hold decent training camps and that there would be no other solution than to gradually cut games from the regular schedule.
It’s unclear whether the athletes are okay with this scenario, but the length of the regular season could become an additional issue in the negotiations. Indeed, this would have consequences on the salary of the players.
Recall that the union had previously said that major league baseball teams should not expect it to accept proposals for a new format for the playoffs and the possibility of adding advertising on helmets if its members suffered wage losses.
The major league lockout was declared on December 2 and has already had an impact on spring camps, which were to begin last Saturday.
