As the MLB Players Association and league owners continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, Thursday’s meeting offered little progress ahead of the Feb. 28 deadline.
Though news remains mum on a number of hot-button topics, such as minimum salaries and the competitive balance tax, the union agreed to modify its proposals on service time manipulation and the draft lottery, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post.
The revisions come a day after it was reported that the league would move forward with canceling regular season games if an agreement is not reached by Monday’s deadline. MLB has been in a lockout since Dec. 2.
According to Janes, the revised draft proposal would include a seven-team lottery, as previously reported on Tuesday, and modifications to the draft order in order to "reduce penalties on small market teams who lose in back-to-back years."
Owners and players also agreed to narrow the number of players rewarded with an extra year of service time to 20; the last proposal would have given an extra year to 29 players.
Thursday’s news, while marginal progress, did little to shed any more insight on the possibility of MLB still having a full season in 2022. As things stand, talks will resume Friday, just three days before the deadline.
Players have grown upset with how far both sides remain on talks, according to the Boston Globe’s Michael Silverman, and negotiators reportedly told the union they have “run out of ideas.”
Silverman also reported that the owners are frustrated with the players over a perceived lack of organization.
Those still pulling for a rapid resolution will have to wait and see what Friday brings as both sides are scheduled to meet for a fifth consecutive day of negotiations. And, with a number of topics still unresolved, the clock continues to tick toward Monday.
