MLB Lockout Tracker: Union reportedly open to 14-team playoff field
Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo, Tim Kelly and Ty Daubert will be tracking the latest breaking news surrounding the MLB lockout.
Friday, March 4: Update, 5:33 p.m. ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the MLBPA is open to discussions with the league on a 14-team playoff field, hoping that expansion even beyond a proposed 12-team format could come in exchange for movement on other issues like the Collective Bargaining Tax threshold.
As the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Scott Lauber noted, the MLBPA had previously opposed the league’s 14-team proposal because it believed it didn’t provide enough reward to all division winners, beyond just that with the league’s best record. Lauber noted that according to Max Scherzer, a leading MLBPA representative, Wild Card Round home-field advantage wouldn’t incentivize teams to spend in an effort to win their division. First-round byes for all division winners, however, could offer more incentive.
The league is in favor of an expanded playoff field in large part due to increased revenue from broadcast deals.
Friday, March 4: The MLB Players Association announced Friday that they are launching a $1 million fund for workers impacted by the owner-imposed lockout.
According to an MLBPA press release: “The fund will be administered by Major League Baseball Players Association and the AFL-CIO and distributed to stadium workers and others who face financial hardship through no fault of their own due to the MLB franchise owners’ lockout.”
The union is currently working on a counterproposal to the league’s last offer from Tuesday, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The two sides met informally on Thursday in New York. No new meetings have been scheduled yet, but they are expected to come soon, per Rosenthal.
According to the Phillies website, all spring training games through March 11 have been canceled.
Tuesday, March 1: Update, 4:40 p.m. The start of the 2022 Major League Baseball season is officially in jeopardy, as the owners’ “final” offer was unanimously rejected by MLB Players Association leaders, according ESPN‘s Jeff Passan. MLB had moved back its self-imposed deadline for a deal to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, saying that the start of the season would be canceled if a new collective bargaining agreement was not made by then.
One leader in the MLBPA called the owners’ offer “a slap in the face,” according the The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal. As reported by Passan, the proposal included no changes to the luxury tax thresholds, a $5 million increase to pre-arbitration bonus pools and an increase of minimum salaries from $675,000 to $700,000.
Tuesday, March 1: For the first time in a while, it seems like there’s a semblance of a chance that a deal could get done in time to salvage the scheduled March 31 start to the regular season.
The two sides bargained well into the night. Talks began at 10 a.m. ET Monday and ended shortly after 2 a.m. ET the next day. MLB decided to push back its self-imposed deal deadline to March 1 at 5 p.m. ET. According to Ron Blum of the Associated Press, things began to pick up when commissioner Rob Manfred told players in a mid-afternoon meeting that he wants to make a deal. More proposals were exchanged as the day moved along. Per The Athletic, management’s proposals included:
- A $220 million luxury tax in 2022 that rises to $230 million in 2026. Luxury tax rates would remain the same from the previous agreement. Players want a $245 million tax threshold for 2022 and previous reports have indicated that anything below $230 million is a non-starter for the union.
- A $25 million pre-arbitration bonus pool. Players are seeking a $115 million pool.
- A minimum salary raise from $570,500 to $675,000 in 2022 with a $10,000 raise every season through the duration of the deal. Players are aiming for a $775,000 minimum salary in 2022.
In what was perhaps the biggest development of the night, both sides have reportedly agreed to move forward with a 12-team expanded postseason. The union also floated around the idea of incentivizing teams to win their division and aim for higher seeding in an expanded postseason format with a “ghost win” concept, per Ken Rosenthal. In the six team per league format, the top two division winners receive a bye to the Division Series. The worst division winner gets home-field advantage and would only have to win two games out of a possible four in the wild-card round. The worst wild card team would have to win three out of a possible four against the aforementioned worst division winner. The other series, which would be between the first and second-best wild-card winners, would be a best-of-three series with the top wild-card team having home-field advantage. It’s not known yet if the “ghost win” incentives were included in the initial deal for a 12-team playoff proposal, but it’s highly likely that the wild-card series would take place entirely in the higher seed’s ballpark.
Players have also shown a willingness to completely back off its request to expand “Super Two” arbitration eligibility. The sides are still far apart on issues such as revenue sharing and the international draft. Players want to further incentivize small market teams to generate more revenue while the league wants to institute an international draft.
The sides have already begun meeting in preparation for MLB’s 5 p.m ET deadline.
Monday, Feb 28: MLB and the MLBPA have been negotiating for nearly 12 hours. The sense is that there is a slight chance the two sides could come to an agreement in time to start the season on March 31, but the sides still remain far apart on key issues. According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, MLB has made a package offer on certain core economic issues.
The notable exclusion here is the competitive balance tax. For a deal to be agreed upon, MLB will have to both significantly lower its luxury tax rate proposals on all three levels and significantly increase its proposed luxury tax thresholds. MLB’s luxury tax rate proposal currently stands at 45% for the first tier, 62% for the second ($20 to $40 million over) and 95% for the third ($40 million or more). MLB’s current first luxury tax threshold stands at $214 million for the 2022 season. The MLBPA is seeking a $245 million threshold in 2022 with the monetary luxury tax penalties remaining the same relative to the last agreement.
MLB could decide to disregard its artificial Feb. 28 deadline and continue bargaining on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, Feb 27: Talks between MLB and the players association were described as “productive” by a league official, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Both sides were mum on the details regarding negotiations, but MLB and the MLBPA will meet again on Monday starting at 10 a.m. for what could be the final day of negotiations from Jupiter, Fla. A union official reportedly stressed that the two sides were far apart on many issues.
MLB self-imposed a Feb. 28 deadline for a deal to get done in order to both start the regular season on March 31 and play 162 games. The union disputes the hard deadline. As Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs notes, the number of games played is subject to collective bargaining, so MLB cannot unilaterally cancel games.
Saturday, Feb. 26: As we tick closer and closer to the Feb. 28 deadline that the league has set to avoid the cancellation of any regular season games, Saturday seemingly was not a productive day in negations.
Evan Drellich of The Athletic obtained MLB’s proposal on the luxury tax threshold, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a willingness to move from the league:
MLB’s proposed CBT first tiers
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 26, 2022
2022: 214m (same as previous)
2023: 215m (increase of $1m)
2024: 216m (same as previous)
2025: 218m (same as previous)
2026: 222m (same as previous)
Jon Heyman of Audacy Sports hears that “there’s a lot of negativity about today,” adding that the MLB Players Association is adamant about the luxury tax thresholds rising in the new CBA, while the penalties for those who surpass it remain the same from the 2017-2021 CBA.
As you can see above, the league doesn’t appear willing to raise the luxury tax thresholds much, if at all. The luxury tax threshold in 2021 was $210 million, and the amounts proposed by the league are very small increases from that, especially when you account for inflation and MLB’s proposal including increased penalties.
Friday, Feb. 25: Rob Manfred attended Friday’s bargaining session in Florida, marking the first time the commissioner of baseball made an appearance during a negotiation session since the lockout began. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark has been present for in-person negotiations since Monday. Manfred and Clark reportedly met one-on-one.
The two sides reportedly made significant progress in one area: the draft lottery. No deal was reached, according to reports, but the two sides are close to settling that issue. Key issues such as the competitive balance tax, salary arbitration and service-time manipulation are still up for grabs.
An MLB spokesperson told Evan Drellich of The Athletic that all spring training games through March 7 have been canceled. March 8 is the earliest date in which the spring training schedule can begin.
The two sides will meet again beginning at noon on Saturday.
Thursday, Feb 24: The MLBPA offered tweaks to its amateur draft and service-time manipulation proposal. Key subjects such as the collective bargaining tax and arbitration eligibility were not addressed in the players proposal. Per the Boston Globe, MLB expressed that the league has “run out of ideas.”
The two sides will meet again Friday.
Wednesday, Feb. 23: MLB put forth a counterproposal on the third-straight day of negotiations in Florida. The league reportedly raised its minimum salary proposal by $10,000, but the most notable bit of news from today came from an MLB spokesperson who confirmed that missed games will not be made up at a later time. If Opening Day is canceled, the regular season will not be 162-games long.
“Missed games are missed games. Feb. 28 is the deadline,” an MLB spokesperson told Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe.
The sides are expected to resume negotiations on Thursday. MLB’s deadline to reach a new agreement to start the regular season on March 31 is Feb. 28.
Update 5:50 p.m. ET: Per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, MLB suggested requesting assistance from a federal mediator. The union rejected the request. Both sides have to agree in order for a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to intervene in the sport’s lockout. MLB formally requested assistance from a federal mediator three weeks ago.
Tuesday, Feb. 22: MLB and the MLBPA met for a second consecutive day. The MLBPA presented a counteroffer to the league in which the players reportedly tweaked its proposals on the draft lottery, “Super Two” arbitration eligibility and the minimum salary.
The league and the players union reportedly held a smaller side session during Tuesday’s negotiation session. Deputy commissioner and the league’s top negotiator Dan Halem along with Rockies owner Dick Monfort met with MLBPA lead negotiator Bruce Meyer and Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, a member of the union’s executive subcommittee.
The two sides are scheduled to meet again on Wednesday.
Monday, Feb. 21: With seven days to go before MLB’s Feb. 28 deadline to reach a new agreement to start the regular season on time, the league and the players met at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. The bargaining session reportedly lasted several hours with both sides spending most of that time caucusing amongst each other, which is typical in labor negotiation sessions.
According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, MLB proposed to increase its pre-arbitration bonus pool offer from $15 to $20 million and to expand the league’s proposed draft lottery from three teams to four. The MLBPA is seeking a $115 million bonus pool split amongst 150 players along with an eight-team weighted draft lottery.
The two sides did not discuss the competitive balance tax, per Drellich. Meetings are expected to resume Tuesday.
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