Major League Baseball’s owner-imposed shutdown is about to put the regular season at risk. Monday marks the league’s self-imposed deadline when a new collective bargaining agreement must be reached before regular-season games are suspended. This will be the first time in 27 years that regular season competitions have been affected by a shutdown. (The 2020 season has changed due to the pandemic.)
During Monday’s meeting, MLB informed the MLBPA that it was willing to miss games for a month and struck a more threatening tone. Evan Drelish informa desde The Athletic. Earlier this month, commissioner Rob Manfred said losing games would be a “disastrous outcome” for the sport, words that have remained empty in the weeks since. The two sides began their meetings at 10 am ET Monday in Jupiter, Florida, and continue into the evening. Manfred told a group of reporters at the site that they were “work on that” Shortly after, the players met at 6 pm ET.
At around 8:35 p.m. ET, a representative from the owner’s side was dispatched to meet with the players. This is believed to be the sixth separate meeting between the two sides on Monday. Reporting from Evan Drelish of The Athletic Indicates that there has been a movement towards an agreement. Owners offered players two options, according to the report:
1. Fourteen playoff teams, with a minimum salary of approximately $700,000 and approximately $40 million in bonus funds divided among the best players before trial.
2. Twelve heats, with a minimum salary of approximately $675,000 and approximately $20 million in pre-judging bonuses.
The two sides can continue negotiations on Tuesday and avoid postponing the opening day despite the league deadline, Adds ESPN’s Jeff Bassan.
CBS Sports has provided a closing time here, but the short version is that the owners activated the locks when the previous CBA expired. They were not required to do so, but it was described as a defensive maneuver. The league then waited more than six weeks to make its first proposal. Since then, the two sides have conducted a series of personal negotiations, with some high points including a competitive credit tax; revenue distribution a breakdown of the players eligible for the Super Two mode in the evaluation; The periodic minimum wage.
CBS Sports offers live updates on Monday’s negotiations. You can find them below.