As you probably know by now, MLB and the Players Association met on Thursday, and the union handed its counterproposal to the league attorneys.
Per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, lead MLB negotiator Dan Halem had a side session with lead union negotiator Bruce Meyer that lasted around 20 minutes.
But the short meeting means one thing: there is no deal to report between the two parties on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Janes reported that while 15 minutes is obviously discouraging, “it seems like the union basically handed them their proposal and wasn’t surprised that they didn’t have an immediate response. Expected MLB to need to take it back and analyze it.”
15 minutes is bleak, but it seems like the union basically handed them their proposal and wasn’t surprised that they didn’t have an immediate response. Expected MLB to need to take it back and analyze it. So I don’t think the timing itself signals catastrophic developments
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) February 17, 2022
We are left playing the waiting game, as we all have in the last few months.
The odds of having a deal today were long, of course, but the problem is that time is running out.
11 Crucial Days
ESPN insider Jeff Passan reported an important update: we are only 11 days from the deadline the league set to start the regular season on time.
There is no deal, of course, and we are now 11 days from the deadline MLB set to start the regular season on time.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 17, 2022
If there is no deal in the next 11 days, the season will be officially pushed back until there is a new CBA.
That’s far from ideal for players, who are left wondering what to do to prepare for the season (and they can’t use the team’s facilities to train, because of the lockout).
In this article, Gio Urshela told the New York Daily News that his estimation was that players needed about a month to get ready for a potential regular season.
It’s unclear, even unlikely, that the league and the union can mend their differences in 11 days.
We remain hopeful, though.
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