Games Will Be Canceled If MLB and the MLBPA Don't Reach an Agreement By February 28
The Athletic’s Evan Drellich reports that a Major League Baseball spokesperson said games would start being canceled if a deal isn’t reached by February 28.
A Major League Baseball spokesperson said tonight that if a deal is not in place by Feb. 28, regular season games will be canceled. ?A deadline is a deadline,? the spokesperson said. Player pay would not be recouped, nor would those games be rescheduled, the spokesperson said.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 23, 2022
MLB and the MLBPA met for the third straight day on Wednesday. However, the two sides have still not agreed on the core economic issues, including minimum salaries, pre-arbitration bonus pools, MLB Draft lottery slots, and competitive balance tax thresholds. The meeting lasted five hours and consisted of one MLB proposal. The owners offered to raise minimum salaries to $640,000 with a $10,000 a year increase.
The spokesperson was also quoted, saying, “a deadline is a deadline.”
MLB has been in a lockout since December 2, after the expiration of the previous CBA. The longer these negotiations go, the farther apart the two sides seem to be. At this point, it also seems like the owners aren’t too concerned about canceling early-season games.
Over at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Los Angeles Dodgers are favored at +600 to win the 2022 World Series.
