Baseball appears headed to early labor negotiations

NEW YORK » Baseball players and management appear headed to early labor negotiations that could lead to significant economic changes in the collective bargaining agreement and possibly a new deal past the current expiration of December 2021.

Management backed off its desire for a pitch clock this year in a proposal to the players’ association on Feb. 26, putting off most on-field changes to 2020 at the earliest. The union quickly made a counteroffer Feb. 27, and the biggest alterations still being discussed for this year are a single trade deadline, most likely on July 31, and lowering the number of mound visits without a pitching change from six to five.

While players have proposed major initiatives that impact economics, such as expanding the designated hitter to the National League and adding provisions that make rebuilding rosters with young players less attractive, management has been focused on on-field issues thus far. Management told the union it would be willing to discuss larger economic issues as part of talks that could lead to a longer labor contract.

Details were disclosed to The Associated Press by people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing. Many aspects of management’s latest proposal were first reported by ESPN.

Among the items put off until 2020 at the earliest are several where an agreement could be reached soon:

• a three-batter minimum for pitchers.

• increasing active rosters from 25 to 26, including a maximum of 13 pitchers, and dropping them from 40 to 28, including a maximum 14 pitchers, from Sept. 1 through the end of the regular season.

• increasing the minimum regular injured list and option recall period for pitchers from 10 days to 15.

• a new rule that position players could pitch only from the ninth inning on, or from the sixth inning on when their team trails by seven runs or more.

The sides remain in discussion over starting extra innings of the All-Star Game and of spring training games with a runner on second base and ending spring training games after 10 innings. They also are discussing experimenting with shorter betweeninning breaks combined with televising the start of innings on split-screens alongside commercials.

A single trade deadline would replace the current rules, which have a July 31 deadline for trades without waivers and an Aug. 31 deadline to acquire players who would be eligible for that team’s postseason rosters.