MLB avoids lockout, reaches CBA deal with union
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. MLB later confirmed the news.
The new deal runs five years in length. MLB has not had a work stoppage since the end of the 1994-95 strike. It has already gone the longest of North America's four major professional team sports leagues without a strike or a lockout, and by the end of this deal, in 2021, that streak will be 26 years.
The Associated Press reports that as part of the deal, the luxury tax threshold will rise from $189 million to $195 million next year and eventually to $210 million in 2021. There will be a draft-pick drop for teams that go above that the threshold by $40 million or more.
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, roster sizes will not change at all. There had been speculation whether the MLB would adjust from 25 to 26 man rosters and also change the roster expansion rules in September.
The agreement was set to expire at midnight tonight (12 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 1). If a deal was not reached, the owners would have formally locked out the players.
Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated's Michael McCann analyzed some of the key issues in the labor negotiations. Some of the last few hurdles were regarding a luxury talk and revenue sharing issues.
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This is the first time that Rob Manfred has headed CBA talks as MLB's commissioner since assuming that role in 2015. The annual winter meetings are scheduled to take place next week in Maryland.
