Daily News | MLB, players meeting late tonight to try to reach an agreement without canceling more games
Either take the league’s latest proposal or leave a week’s worth of regular-season games on the chopping block.
If that sounded more like a negotiating tactic or even an ultimatum, well, that’s how the players viewed last week’s deadline, which MLB maintained was necessary to preserve a 162-game season after a four-week spring training. Regardless, the players weren’t pressured into taking a deal then and likely were resolved to get the best possible deal now, too.
The annual rate of increase in those thresholds also remained an issue. The Athletic reported that MLB’s new offer bumped the threshold to $242 million by 2026, the end point of the five-year agreement. The players were seeking a $263 million threshold in 2026. MLB needs 23 of the 30 owners to ratify an agreement. Four owners reportedly rejected the league’s proposed $220 million threshold for 2022 last week.It was also unclear what the owners requested as a trade-off for the movement on the luxury tax.
If a deal were to be reached, players likely would report to spring training by the end of the week. A four-week camp would push opening day from March 31 to the second full week of April. It’s unclear when the previously canceled games would be played.