Many issues to resolve before old CBA expires

In recent weeks, Gerrit Cole’s phone has buzzed with a unique set of push notifications. These contain negotiations updates and document summaries from the Major League Baseball Players Association, which is currently discussing a new collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball.

Yes, the players union has an app.

“It’s as accessible as you want,” said Cole, the Pirates’ union representative. “If you want all the updates, you can get all the updates.”

The current CBA expires Dec. 1. No one expects a work stoppage in an industry sporting $9.5 billion in revenue that hasn’t dealt with a strike since 1994-95, but there remain significant issues to resolve. Some, such as free-agent compensation, have existed since the

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette Pirates starter Gerrit Cole has been busy recently as the team’s union representative.