Deadline approaches as MLB players and owners seek working agreement

2022-02-28 05:06:03 GMT+00:00 – In terms of getting a working agreement, consider it the bottom of the ninth inning.

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association met for six hours on Sunday but failed to reach an agreement, according to multiple reports. The sides will meet again on Monday morning in hopes of a deal before the league’s deadline to save the March 31 opening day.

If an agreement is not reached by the end of Monday, MLB has indicated that it will cancel games from the season opener and reduce its slate to 162 games.

While Sunday’s extended negotiations were seen as positive, players and owners are said to be far apart on several issues, including minimum wages, competitive balance tax, expanded eligibility for Super Arbitration -2, revenue sharing, expanded playoffs, and a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. .

It was a “productive meeting” from MLB’s perspective, USA Today reported, but the players weren’t as positive. Union officials said the two sides remained “far apart” on key hurdles to completing the bargaining process and shifting focus to the season.

Other reports indicated a similar feeling of half optimism, half pessimism.

“There was some sense of productivity today, but the gap on key issues remains significant,” The Athletic’s Evan Drelich wrote on Twitter. “Tomorrow, on deadline day, they meet earlier in the day than they have yet. want to be excited.”

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