In the middle of some rough negotiations between MLB and the Players Association for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the league finally accepted that it’s impossible that spring training games start on February 26, like it was stipulated in the schedule.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, MLB announced the inevitable: “Major League Baseball has postponed spring training games through March 5. Which was obvious, of course, but it’s now official as the league prepares to start meeting with the MLB Players Association on Monday as collective-bargaining negotiations finally start to ramp up.”
Major League Baseball has postponed spring training games through March 5. Which was obvious, of course, but it's now official as the league prepares to start meeting with the MLB Players Association on Monday as collective-bargaining negotiations finally start to ramp up.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 18, 2022
There are a few takeaways to make of this news.
First, it’s still hard to believe that both sides lost 42 days of bargaining: they barely even talked in December and the first days of January.
Second, some players are training on their own, but there is no way they could have been ready to play exhibition games in eight days, considering they haven’t even gathered in a training camp.
Negotiations Will Finally Ramp Up
And third, the official delay of spring training games means that, as Passan says, there will finally be some movement in negotiations.
That’s perhaps the most important takeaway: MLB is finally realizing that games, even if they are not regular season games yet, are starting to be lost because the two sides can’t agree to a new CBA pact.
The sides are expected to meet several times (perhaps every day, according to Passan) starting next week.
Will this be a wake-up call for everyone involved?
It goes without saying that next week is perhaps the most important so far in CBA talks, and it will likely dictate the future of the season.
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