JUPITER, Fla. — Day 2 of in-person meetings this week between Major League Baseball and the MLBPA once again produced little progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement, while the league actually viewed the day as a step backwards.
The union lowered its proposal that players enter arbitration after two years, from 80 percent of players to 75 percent, but countered by asking for more in its minimum wage structure.
Instead of $25,000 minimum wage increases, the union asked for $30,000 each year of the agreement. Since the Super 2 issue is not a start for the league, they saw the mix of adjustments move away from a deal and not toward one. The league says it doesn’t have the votes to expand Super 2 beyond the 22 percent currently coming into the system, so the union can ask for any amount above that, but they won’t get it.
The talks took place once again at Roger Dean Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins train.
League officials met with their MLBPA counterparts, along with a group of players, for about three hours Tuesday. Like Monday, the sides got together and then on their own, but little came of the day. In fact, the league floated the idea of using a federal mediator, and for the second time in two weeks, the union turned them down.
Although the competitive balance tax came up in the talks, neither side made a new proposal on that issue. To that end, they are likely to be a game changer if one party can satisfy the other with a new idea or offer.
Tuesday’s adjustment to the minimum wage structure by the union produced a new model. The minimum in Year 1 would be $775,000. It would go up to $805,000 in year 2, $835,000 in year 3, $865,000 in year four, and $895,000 in year 5 of the deal. The league is offering a starting minimum of $630,000 in 2022.
The sides will meet again on Wednesday, as spring training remains on hold until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached or the owners decide to proceed with the lockout. The deadline to play on Opening Day is approaching.
Most of those involved believe that players need about four weeks of spring training to be ready for the season.
