Major League Baseball and the players’ association failed again to reach a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement before another deadline the league set forth for Wednesday.
As a result, opening day has been postponed to at least April 14, removing two more series from the regular season schedule.
These negotiations were, as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred would write, a “last ditch effort to preserve a 162-game season.”
“The clubs went to extraordinary lengths to meet the substantial demands of the MLBPA,” Manfred wrote in a released statement announcing the cancellations. “On the key economic issues that have posed stumbling blocks, the Clubs proposed ways to bridge gaps to preserve a full schedule. Regrettably, after our second late-night bargaining session in a week, we remain without a deal.
“...I am saddened by this situation’s continued impact on our game and all those who are a part of it, especially our loyal fans. We have the utmost respect for our players and hope they will ultimately choose to accept the fair agreement they have been offered.”
The players association released the following statement, calling the decision to cancel more games "completely unnecessary."
Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/XLnAvwkFpm
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) March 10, 2022
Both sides will continue to talk Thursday.
After canceling the first two series of games a week ago after failing to reach a deal, the league offered a proposal that would have made it possible to make up those games by extending the season three days and adding several double-headers to the schedule.
Canceling more games makes such a proposal seemingly less likely moving forward.
There were reports that this would have been the players’ last chance to accrue a full year of service time too, something that they were steadfast about during all negotiations during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020. If that is taken off the table, labor talks could potentially get even more heated.
While not all details of Tuesday and Wednesday’s negotiations are known, it did appear that both sides did come closer to meeting in the middle for several vital issues, most notably the thresholds for the competitive balance tax. The bonus pool for pre-arb players continued to be a thorn in talks, as owners offered $40 million flat for each year of the CBA, while players wanted a system that started at $65 million and then increased an additional $5 million per year.
However, the league proposed instituting an international draft, which ended up being the stumbling block for a new deal. Several players from the Dominican spoke out against it, including Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and Hall of Famer David Ortiz, believing that implementing such a draft quickly would greatly disrupt baseball’s influence in the country.
A similar example could be seen when the league made Puerto Rican players draft eligible. Owners saw it as a way to more evenly share the top international talent among clubs.
The league offered several proposals for the international draft and the CBA with or without it, including giving the league the option to renegotiate aspects of the CBA three years in.
The league also tied implementing a draft with the removal of draft pick compensation for free agents, something the players have sought for some time.
According to Jon Heyman, the players did make an offer that was similar to Manfred's on Tuesday, but since it came after the league's 6 p.m. deadline, the league still postponed opening day further.
Player rep Max Scherzer went to Twitter to say that during last week's negotiations, the two sides did discuss an international draft, but that the league did not offer anything in exchange for it, so the players rejected it.
The two sides had also reportedly agreed to competitive changes for the upcoming CBA, including banning the shift, implementing a pitch clock and increasing the size of bases.
For the Pirates, assuming the regular season does start on April 14, they would open at home against the Nationals. They were originally supposed to open at home against the Cardinals on March 31, followed by road series against the Reds and Cardinals. Two home games against the Cubs on the 12th and 13th were set to be the fourth series.
Thus far, 12 Pirate regular season games have been cancelled or postponed.