MLB Cancels More Games, Lockout Extended as Negotiations Continue

Competitive balance tax thresholds, minimum salary and the prospect of an international draft proved to be sticking points as talks rolled into Wednesday.

Despite the progress that has been made on certain issues, MLB and the players’ association were not able to reach a deal Wednesday to end the lockout as another deadline came to pass. 

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancellation of additional games, extending the lockout that started almost 100 days ago. And until an agreement is reached, free agency will remain on hold. The earliest Opening Day will be held is now April 14.

Rob Manfred announced that Major League Baseball has canceled another two series.

MLB Opening Day has been postponed until April 14th. pic.twitter.com/vi9FYZF0zz

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 9, 2022

The news comes just over a week after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancellation of the season’s first two series, marking the first time in nearly three decades that regular season games are being canceled due to a work stoppage.

“In a last-ditch effort to preserve a 162-game season, this week we have made good-faith proposals that address the specific concerns voiced by the MLBPA and would have allowed the players to return to the field immediately,” Manfred wrote in a statement. “The Clubs went to extraordinary lengths to meet the substantial demands of the MLBPA … Regrettably, after our second late-night bargaining session in a week, we remain without a deal.”

The MLBPA responded to the decision to cancel games with a statement of their own, saying, “The owners’ decision to cancel additional games Is completely unnecessary. After making a set of comprehensive proposals to the league earlier this afternoon, and being told substantive responses were forthcoming, Players have yet to hear back.”

A key issue at the heart of recent discussions has been the implementation of an international draft. The league proposed three options for a draft of international players, all with qualifying offers for free agents tied to them. The union countered with a proposal to remove the qualifying offer component for this year, with a deadline of Nov. 15 to reach an agreement on the international draft. The league declined to respond to this counter, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The players’ association and league had been far apart on matters such as competitive balance tax thresholds, minimum salary and the size of a new pre-arbitration bonus pool heading into the final day of negotiations. 

The two sides met in person and then subsequently negotiated over the phone. Based on the conversations, MLB made a proposal that reportedly included adjusting the luxury tax thresholds to span from $230 million to $242 million, an increase from 2021’s figure of $210 million. However, the league reportedly proposed adding a fourth tier for bigger spenders that was above the threshold, which would have likely only impacted the Mets and Dodgers during the 2022 season, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. 

MLB’s proposal, sources tell me and @Ken_Rosenthal:

• Luxury tax thresholds: 230, 232, 236, 240, 242⁰
• Prearb pool: 40m, flat over time
• Pool counts against CBT (1.33m per team)
•Minimum salary: 700, 715, 730, 750, 770

(cont’d)

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 9, 2022

On service time, with @Ken_Rosenthal:

• Top 2 Rookie of Year vote getters can get a full year of service.

• A team that brings up a player for Opening Day can net 3 draft picks over time, one pick per year, if that player does well in voting

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 9, 2022

The players association countered that offer with a proposal to have the CBT threshold at $232 million, with increases up to $250 million in the fifth year of the agreement. The union also proposed a minimum salary of $710,000, with an increase to $780,000 by the end of the CBA, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic.