With no Collective Bargaining Agreement in place and already past the date when players would have already reported to spring training, Major League Baseball officially postponed spring training games Friday to at least March 5.
“We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of Spring Training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5,” the league said in a prepared statement. “All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands.”
Spring games were set to get started at the end of the month.
The league announced they will offer full ticket refunds for fans who have purchased tickets for spring training games that are not taking place.
The player’s association released a response shortly after, taking issue with the league saying it “must” postpone games since the league implemented the lockout and could end it at any time.
Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/iboIiZqr0O
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) February 18, 2022
The regular season is scheduled to open on March 31, but the league set a deadline of Feb. 28 to reach a new CBA before postponing regular season games. The union responded that if a full season is not played and players do not receive their full salaries, they will not agree to expanded playoffs in 2022, which is a key selling point for owners.
The league and player’s association will meet Monday and they will have daily meetings next week to try to reach a new CBA before passing the league’s deadline.
The key issues that need to be resolved involve team revenue sharing, a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, how many players are eligible for arbitration, raising the minimum salary, implementing a draft lottery.
The two sides have agreed that the National League will adopt the designated hitter in 2022 and beyond.
