START OF SEASON NOW IN JEOPARDY
Union unimpressed by MLB’s latest proposals, likely forcing camps to open late
Any surge of optimism that majorleague players soon will be taking the field was doused loudly and swiftly Saturday, creating more concern the start of the regular season will be delayed.
Major League Baseball presented a comprehensive new set of proposals in hopes of accelerating talks toward a labor deal, but Major League Baseball Players Association officials and several players said they were thoroughly unimpressed and did not view it as progress.
The cold reality now is that 72 days since MLB imposed the lockout, the league and union are barely any closer toward a deal than they were at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 2. The sides met for only the fifth time Saturday and the first in 11 days on core economic issues.
MLB has no plans to make an official announcement on a delayed start to spring training, but it appears impossible for pitchers and catchers to begin workouts Thursday in Arizona and Florida.
Unless an agreement miraculously is reached by the end of the week, MLB will start announcing the cancellation of springtraining games that are scheduled to begin Feb. 26, perhaps a week at a time. While spring-training games are a revenue stream for teams, players don’t begin receiving paychecks until Opening Day.
The deadline for an agreement to preserve the start of the season is about Feb. 28, and even that would leave teams and players scrambling to get ready for the start of the season March 31. Players still need to travel to camps, foreign players must get their visas and there are 197 unsigned arbitration-eligible players and nearly 300 unsigned free agents.
Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed far too much optimism, or simply underestimated the players’ resolve, when he announced Thursday that MLB would be submitting a strong proposal that could lead to an agreement to ensure the season would start on time.
MLB submitted a comprehensive 130page proposal covering every facet of the collective-bargaining agreement during the meeting in New York, but the players’ initial response was disappointment, saying it was “miniscule movement given the calendar.’’ The union is expected to submit counterproposals within a week.
MLB slightly enhanced its proposals on
several economic issues. It increased the luxury tax by $2 million, starting at $214 million for the first two years, $216 million in 2024, $218 million in 2025 and $222 million in 2026. It also lowered the penalties for exceeding the luxury tax. Teams no longer would lose draft picks unless their payroll exceeded $234 million, a figure that only four teams have ever eclipsed.
The union’s last proposal was a $245 million luxury-tax threshold, a decrease of $3 million from their last offer.
MLB raised the minimum salary for players with less than one year of major-league
service, which was $570,500 last year, to $615,000 for the first year, $650,000 for players with at least one year of service and $725,000 for players with at least two years of service but aren’t yet eligible for salary arbitration. It also gave the union a flat-rate minimum salary of $630,000 with no cap, if preferred. The union is seeking a $775,000 minimum salary.
MLB increased its bonus pool for nonarbitration eligible players to $15 million, an increase of $5 million, matching the union’s $5 million movement from $105 million to $100 million in their last proposal.
Players who aren’t eligible for arbitration would receive an increase of about $200 million during the duration of the five-year collective-bargaining agreement, while the union’s proposal would provide about $500 million.
MLB also increased the amateur draft and international signings pool by $23 million and said any player who submits to a pre-draft physical must be offered at least 75% of its slot value. Teams no longer can refuse to sign a player who fails a post-draft physical as the Mets did last year with pitcher Kumar Rocker.