Blue Jays Opening Day Canceled After League's CBA Deadline Passes

Note: Since the publication of this story, Major League Baseball announced the cancelation of regular-season games. Read about that announcement here.

In Commissioner Rob Manfred's own words, missing baseball games this season would be a disastrous outcome. On Tuesday, Major League Baseball took a step closer to that calamity.

After a week of negotiations, traversing back and forth between Jupiter, Florida structures to trade proposals toward a new collective bargaining agreement, Major League Baseball's ownership and the MLBPA do not have a deal.

After another day of discussions, MLB presented the union with their "best offer," hours before their deadline to cancel games, which included no moves on the competitive balance tax, and moves towards the PA's asks in the minimum salary and a new player bonus pool. Still far apart on many core economic issues, the players' leadership unanimously voted no on the ownership proposal.

Players felt "basically nothing about MLB's last and best offer was acceptable," according to Sporstnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

After Monday evening talks drifted into Tuesday morning, MLB's initial self-imposed deadline to save opening day was pushed to Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET. On Tuesday, an MLB official claimed the MLBPA had a "decidedly different one," per The Athletic's Evan Drellich.

However, a union representative countered the claim of a tone shift to Drellich, stating that the union's tone had remained consistent and that both sides remained apart on key issues. Some players, including starting pitcher Alex Wood, claimed the optimism for a deal came from the owners 'pumping the media' with momentum to control the public discourse. After rejecting the final deal, MLBPA's player contingency left the Jupiter, Florida complex, per reports.

After 89 days, the lockout continues. Players will remain unable to train at team facilities, MLB spring training delays will persist, transactions remain frozen, and baseball remains uncertain.

What happens next is unclear, but Opening Day is in jeopardy.

H/T Evan Drellich, Ben Nicholson-Smith, Bob Nightengale, Most Reporters In Jupiter