Manfred: Lockout preferred to in-season strike if no deal
CHICAGO — While insisting Major League Baseball is focused on reaching a labor deal, Commissioner Rob Manfred signaled Thursday that owners likely will lock out players if the current contract expires Dec. 1 without a new agreement.
Baseball had eight work stoppages from 1972-95, but there has been labor peace since a 7 1/2-month strike began in August 1994 and forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.
“We’ve been down this path. We locked out in ’89-’90,” Manfred said. “I don’t think ’94 worked out too great for anybody. I think when you look at other sports, the pattern has become to control the timing of the labor dispute and try to minimize the prospect of actual disruption of the season. That’s what it’s about. It’s avoiding doing damage to the season.”
Talks have been going on since spring but have lacked the momentum toward an agreement that characterized negotiations that led to deals in 2006, ’11 and ’16.
Baseball had a 32-day spring training lockout in 1990 and while opening day was delayed a week, each team was scheduled for a full 162 games.
“Honestly, I can’t believe there’s a single fan in the world who doesn’t understand that an offseason lockout that moves the process forward is different than a labor dispute that costs games,” Manfred said.
While the luxury tax threshold was $210 million this year with a 20 percent rate for firsttime offenders, management has proposed having a $180 million threshold with a 25 percent rate.
Teams also have proposed a $100 million payroll floor, which the union opposes because it is tied to tax penalties at the higher end.
Owners also have proposed replacing salary arbitration — for players with three years but less than six of major league service plus the top 17 percent by service time between two years and three — with pay determined by FanGraphs WAR. The union considers that the type of salary scale it has rejected since 1989.
Players currently eligible for arbitration would have the option of being grandfathered under the existing arbitration system.
Players, concerned with service-time manipulation, have proposed dropping free agency eligibility from six seasons of service to five and arbitration eligibility to two seasons, where it stood before the 1985 strike settlement.
Owners instead proposed free-agent eligibility be changed to the age of 29.5 years.