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MLB, MLBPA do not reach deal after extended talks Monday; deadline extended to Tuesday

MLB’s new deadline to reach a new collective bargaining agreement without cancelling regular-season games is at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

By Patrick Karraker
/ new
MLB: Lockout
Feb 28, 2022; Jupiter, FL, USA; Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem, right, Major League Baseball Executive Vice President Morgan Sword, center, and public relations Glen Caplin, left, (not part of bargaining) arrive for negotiations with the players union in an attempt to reach an agreement to salvage March 31 openers and a 162-game season, Feb. 28, 2022, at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Greg Lovett-USA TODAY NETWORK
The Palm Beach Post-USA TODAY NETWORK

Despite the fact that they held collective bargaining talks for nearly 17 hours on Monday, with talks extending until early Tuesday morning, MLB and the MLBPA did not reach a new collective bargaining agreement by the league’s self-imposed Monday night deadline to salvage Opening Day and a 162-game regular season. However, the talks were productive enough that the two sides will return to the bargaining table on Tuesday, with MLB extending the deadline to 5 p.m. ET. Meetings are set to resume around 10 a.m. ET.

Among the developments from the talks that took place all day Monday and into Tuesday morning:

  • The league and union have apparently reached agreement on a 12-team playoff format, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale. Reports indicated earlier Monday that the union would have to make concessions on the minimum salary and the bonus pool for pre-arbitration players in order to keep the playoff pool smaller.
  • MLB has offered a $220 million competitive-balance tax threshold, a $25 million bonus pool for pre-arbitration-eligible players, and a $675,000 minimum salary for 2022. Those numbers are reportedly still far off from the union’s requests.
  • Under MLB’s current offer, the CBT would stay at $220 million through 2024, increase by $4 million in 2025, and increase again to $230 million in 2026. In a fairly major reversal, however, the league is willing to keep the luxury-tax penalties the same as they were under the previous CBA, per Drellich.
  • If they get everything else that they want, the union is willing to rescind its request for an expanded number of players with between two and three years of service time to be eligible for salary arbitration, per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich. That’s not an exceptionally surprising potential concession, as the league has viewed changes to arbitration eligibility as a non-starter since the beginning of negotiations.

If the two sides can reach a deal Tuesday, it would then become a race to jam a flurry of activities that were lost as players were locked out over the last three months — a huge amount of free-agent activity, the Rule 5 Draft, the arrangement of work visas for international players, spring training workouts, and ultimately exhibition games — before a March 31 Opening Day. But a deal still is not certain, even as the league and union head into overtime in a bid to preserve a full season.

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