Reports: MLB, Players’ Association Still Without Deal With One Day Until League’s Proposed Deadline

The two sides remained vague about what was discussed on the seventh consecutive day of meetings.

Major League Baseball and the players’ association remain without a deal in place with just one day of negotiations to go until the league has said it will start canceling regular season games, according to multiple reports. 

The two sides met for the seventh day in a row on Sunday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida and both remained close to the vest about the contents of the meeting. 

The league called the afternoon’s talks “productive”, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, but neglected to expand upon the details of what was discussed.

Was a productive day of talks, according to a league source. They’ll meet Monday morning and keep trying for an agreement before the end of the day/night. Productive doesn’t necessarily mean progress towards a deal by tomorrow but at least they’re still talking.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 28, 2022

The union similarly didn’t give details about Sunday’s meetings, but characterized the talks differently. According to Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post, a union source said that the two sides are ”still apart on almost every issue” and have yet to cross off any particular point of debate from the negotiating list.

No one was overflowing with optimism, to say the least. And there is no set deadline time tomorrow: Expectation seems to be if they’re nearing a deal, they’ll push for it. And if they’re not… well, MLB has vowed to start cancelling regular season games.

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) February 28, 2022

The league did reportedly make a minor change to its position regarding the competitive balance tax and the qualifying offer, according to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich. However, he made note that no former proposal was made from either side on Sunday.

As a technical note, there were no new formal proposals today from either side. But there was a lot of discussion: if we did X, could you do Y, and so forth.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 28, 2022

According to various reports, MLB and the MLBPA will meet again on Monday, starting at 10 a.m. If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement after a day of negotiations, the league has suggested that it will begin canceling regular season games. 

Sunday’s update comes after a particularly contentious Saturday that reportedly saw MLB react poorly to the union’s latest proposal. The players reportedly felt that they made a fair proposal to owners, but felt so slighted by the league’s response that they were considering walking away from the negotiating table entirely, according to Janes.

After Sunday’s negotiations, just one day remains until the league’s hard deadline. If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement by the end of Monday’s discussions, MLB has said that the start of the regular season will be delayed and that the teams will not play a full 162-game schedule. Currently, Opening Day is slated for March 31.

So we're down to one day. Let's face it, it would take a mini -- make that major -- miracle to save Opening Day. Best to hope for is minimal time lost on the schedule.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 28, 2022

MLB announced on Friday that that it has delayed spring training games until March 8 at the earliest due to the ongoing negotiations.