IMAGE COURTESY MLB
NEW YORK.- This Thursday the first meeting of the year between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) was held via Zoom.
It was the first major talk since the work stoppage began six weeks ago.
The league presented a new proposal that included, according to sources, significant increases in pay to players with more than two years of service, with the best players earning much more in performance-based bonuses. The proposal also included ideas to address the alleged manipulation of service time – something of great interest to players – to motivate teams to include highly sought-after prospects on Opening Day rosters.
MLB also made proposals on issues where the parties had already found common ground, some in direct response to players’ desire to encourage competition. Among them are the draft lottery, which would help defuse concerns about losing on purpose in pursuit of a better seed in the amateur draft, postseason expansion and designated hitter in both leagues.
Thursday’s meeting was kicked off by MLB in an effort to find a path to a new collective agreement. Since the lockout began, the two sides had met in recent weeks to discuss other matters, but Thursday was the first time they discussed the most important economic issues.
MLB also offered a 14-team postseason format as part of a proposal that would raise the CBT threshold from $ 210 million to $ 214 million, eventually reaching $ 220 million. The Union’s most recent proposal before the lockout included raising the CBT threshold to $ 245 million and a 12-team postseason format.
With mlb information
