The rough negotiations between MLB and the Players Association don’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon.
Both parties met on Thursday, initially to discuss the owners’ latest proposal and to know where the players currently stand.
The most likely scenario is both parties remaining far apart in their respective petitions and demands, because the meeting, the first one since last Saturday, came to an end after just 15 minutes.
It appears most of MLB’s squad has left the negotiations…after 15 minutes.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) February 17, 2022
It’s hard to negotiate a deal if the parts aren’t actually bargaining.
It’s called a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for a reason.
But at this point, owners have shown that they don’t want to negotiate in good faith.
They have benefited from owners-friendly deals in the past, but players are ready to stand up for their rights.
That has caused the meetings to be tense and the negotiation to be currently stalled.
That seems to be the problem in the view of ESPN insider Jeff Passan: the communication isn’t ideal.
The CBT Will Complicate Everything
But there is one specific item in talks that is sure to bring a lot of problems, because players aren’t willing to concede: the competitive balance tax (CBT).
“They’ve barely bargained on the CBT — and almost everyone with whom I talk believes luxury tax will be the issue that causes the most consternation. MLB and the union have completely different worldviews. On, like, everything. But when they nitty-gritty CBT, we’re near a deal,” he said via Twitter.
They've barely bargained on the CBT — and almost everyone with whom I talk believes luxury tax will be the issue that causes the most consternation.
MLB and the union have completely different worldviews. On, like, everything. But when they nitty-gritty CBT, we're near a deal. https://t.co/KYkwhUdaho
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 17, 2022
The main problem is that the league wants to increase the penalties for those teams who exceed the CBT, and players don’t like this because they think teams will be afraid to surpass any CBT amount they agree to, fearing steep financial penalties.
There is still a long way to go before we have baseball back.
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