MLB and MLBPA reach agreement on new CBA, Baseball is back

After a long and drawn out CBA negotiation that threatened to see regular season games cancelled and has already directly impacted MLB spring training, we have finally reached a resolution. According to numerous reports out there, MLB and MLBPA have reached an agreement on a new CBA.

There was certainly some amount of optimism going into the day as discussions over the implementation of an international draft threatened to derail progress seemed to be trending in the right direction. Earlier today, MLB and MLBPA agreed to keep talking about an international draft and if they could not agree to implementation of it by July, then the old IFA would stay in place. If they can institute said draft, then the qualifying offer system for MLB free agency will go away.

Once that was settled, it came down to agreeing to the actual numbers on the competitive balance tax and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. Those numbers have been getting closer and closer together in recent days and MLB made the following offer with a 3 PM EST deadline.

It was then on the players’ union to vote on the owners’ proposal. The executive committee for the players recommended against agreeing to it, but it became abundantly clear that the vote was going to be close. Ultimately, the players did vote to agree to the deal and now I get to write the three greatest words.

Baseball is back.

We will keep you updated on the details on the CBA as they become readily available.