The international draft issue that was holding up the progress on ending the MLB lockout has been resolved.
Now, all the two sides have to worry about is reaching the middle on the core economic issues, and they’re getting closer.
So close in fact, that if things go according to plan, the lockout could actually be over at some point today.
On the international draft issue, MLB and MLBPA have agreed to negotiate on that until July 25.
If they can agree on it, draft pick compensation tied to free agency will be removed.
If not, then draft pick compensation will remain a part of free agency.
The sides agree to negotiate on the international draft and have until July 25 to reach a deal on a draft starting in 2024. If they get a deal, draft pick compensation will be removed. If they don’t, it won’t, and international system will stay as is.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) March 10, 2022
A Holdup Resolved
This seemed to be such an unnecessary holdup yesterday, but fortunately, it appears to have been taken care of.
The two sides will continue to negotiate today in hopes of coming to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, effectively putting an end to the MLB lockout after 99 days.
The lockout has been long, and the negotiations have been tenuous.
But if they can agree to end the lockout, things will finally be back to normal in the world of baseball.
Spring training will kick off soon, and free agency will resume.
And when free agency does resume, teams will be scrambling to finalize their rosters and will be signing free agents and making trades at a pace we have never seen before.
At this point, all fans can do is hope for the best.
Baseball has been gone for too long, and if the two sides can reach an agreement, the sport can come back and act as a sort of healing power to distract us from the real world.
NEXT: MLB Is Too Close On A Deal To Blow It Now