The North American Baseball League (MLB) has reached a tentative agreement with the players’ union on a new collective bargaining agreement, paving the way for a regular season start on April 7, US media reported Thursday.
If ratified, the deal will end weeks of long deadlocked negotiations between the two sides, which culminated in 99 days of “lock-outand led to the postponement of the start of the championship, originally scheduled for March 31.
The new season would maintain a schedule of 162 matches for each team before the playoffs, according to ESPN. The matches that were to be played from March 31 to April 7 will be made up during the season.
This outcome appears to be an unexpected twist in the situation, as both the MLB, which represents franchise owners, and the players’ union (MLBPA) seemed to remain firm on their respective positions. Again on Wednesday evening, they had put an end to a new round of marathon negotiations.
As for the terms of the agreement, it will include an increase in minimum wages, a new bonus base for young players and an increase in the league’s luxury tax, levied when a team exceeds the salary cap. .
