Report: MLBPA To Make Next CBA Proposal to MLB on Monday
It took six weeks for Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) to meet at the bargaining table for the first time since the owners locked out the players without a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place. As expected, the proposal made by MLB was rejected by the MLBPA, but the league hoped the bargaining session would get the ball rolling on negotiations toward a new agreement.
One week later, the players are preparing to counter. According to multiple reports, the MLBPA is preparing a proposal that will be submitted to MLB on Monday. Unlike the previous meeting, this bargaining session will take place in person.
It's unclear what the MLBPA's focus will be in the next proposal. However, as MLB Network's Jon Heyman noted, the players were disappointed that MLB's most recent proposal ignored free agency, revenue sharing and the Competitive Balance Tax—three pressing issues for the MLBPA. So, it would not come as any surprise for the players to focus on these areas.
MLB centered their proposal around the issue of better compensation for younger players, which included curtailing service time manipulation and implementing a formula for paying players with more than two years of MLB service. While the league viewed the change as significant, the players thought it as incremental at best.
It's important to note for future bargaining sessions that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has spoken out against any changes to revenue sharing or players needing less time to qualify for free agency.
With each day that passes, spring training becomes more and more threatened. Pitchers and catchers are supposed begin reporting to camps in just under a month, and there is much to be accomplished after a new CBA is signed and regular MLB business can resume.
Well more than 100 free agents need time to sign with clubs, players from outside the United States will need time to renew their visas and clubs have a slew of offseason objectives to tackle, including the trade market, salary arbitration and potentially the big league portion of the Rule 5 draft. In addition, the rising cases of COVID-19 will warrant a long and extensive look at establishing protocols to keep players and staff as safe as possible.
On the positive side of things, the two sides are talking. It's moving very slow, but talking nonetheless. Though momentum is scarce at the moment, negotiations are expected to pick up the closer we get to the regular season. With both the league and players still reeling from lost revenue due to the truncated 2020 season, neither side is interested in further financial losses.
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