MLB's snail-paced lockout talks to resume with union offer
Both sides are still negotiation an end to the lock out
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Locked out baseball players plan to make a counteroffer to management on Monday, 11 days after clubs gave the union a proposal when the snail-paced negotiations resumed following a 42-day break.
The players’ association asked Major League Baseball on Thursday to schedule the negotiating session, which is to take place in-person.
There is dwindling time to reach an agreement in time for spring training to start as scheduled on Feb. 16.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The scheduled March 31 opening day is also increasingly threatened, given the need for players to report, go through COVID-19 protocols and have at least three weeks of workouts that include a minimal number of exhibition games.
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FILE - Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Players don’t receive paychecks until the regular season, and owners get only a small percentage of their revenue during the offseason. Those factors create negotiations that are a game of chicken until mid-to-late February, when significant economic losses become more imminent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When owners made their new proposal during a video meeting on Jan. 13, players reacted coolly and said they would contact MLB when they were ready to respond.
Baseball's ninth work stoppage, its first since 1995, started Dec. 2 following the expiration of a five-year labor contract.
Unhappy with a 4% drop in payrolls to 2015 levels, players have asked for significant change that includes more liberalized free agency and salary arbitration eligibility.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Six seasons of major league service have been required for free agency since 1976. Salary arbitration eligibility since 2013 has been three seasons plus the top 22% by service time of players with at least two years but less than three years.
MLB proposed to replace the "super two" arbitration group with additional spending for the entire two-plus class based on performance.
Players also want to reduce revenue sharing, which would take money away from smaller-market teams and allow large-market clubs to retain a higher percentage of cash — presumably to be spent on salaries.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The luxury tax threshold was $210 million in 2021, and MLB proposed raising the threshold to $214 million. Players have asked to raise the threshold to $245 million and to eliminate non-tax penalties.
Teams also want to expand from 10 postseason teams to 14, and players have offered 12.
Both sides have proposed a draft lottery aimed to spur competition on the field but differ on how many teams to include.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In their latest proposal, teams offered to address the union’s concern over club service-time manipulation by allowing a team to gain an additional draft pick for an accomplishment by a player not yet eligible for arbitration, such as a high finish in award voting.