MLB and the Players Association are nearing their deadline to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBT).
It appears that, on Monday, they made all the progress they failed to make in months leading up to this week.
The meetings were fruitful enough yesterday that MLB agreed to push back its deadline to finish a deal and playing a full 162-game season to Tuesday at 5:00 pm ET.
But today hasn’t been as encouraging.
MLB presented its last offer to players, increasing the minimum salary to $700,000 (the union wants at least $775,000) but hardly moving on the competitive balance tax (CBT, also known as the luxury tax) and the bonus pool for outstanding pre-arbitration players.
There is currently no deal in place, and there may not be one to report today.
What Should The Players Do?
Players themselves have gone out to social media to throw some cold water onto rumors and extreme optimism.
“FWIW MLB has pumped to the media last night & today that there’s momentum toward a deal. Now saying the players tone has changed. So if a deal isn’t done today it’s our fault. This isn’t a coincidence. We’ve had the same tone all along. We just want a fair deal/to play ball,” San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Alex Wood said via Twitter.
FWIW MLB has pumped to the media last night & today that there’s momentum toward a deal. Now saying the players tone has changed. So if a deal isn’t done today it’s our fault. This isn’t a coincidence. We’ve had the same tone all along. We just want a fair deal/to play ball.
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) March 1, 2022
Players have some decisions to make: they could take what the league is offered and get away with only minor victories, or hold out until getting a better, more fair deal.
The problem is that option two likely automatically wipes out at least a month’s worth of regular season games, and that’s payment that players won’t see again.
However, they may gain more if they negotiate a better deal.
Stay tuned.
