Another day runs off clock in MLB talks to save opening day
RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer
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JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Another day ran off the clock on talks to salvage opening day when locked-out baseball players proposed what they considered a small move forward in drawn-out labor negotiations and management termed it a third straight step backward.
Management again proposed a federal mediator enter the negotiations, but the union immediately turned down that idea, leaving Major League Baseball on track to lose regular-season games to a labor dispute for the first time since 1995.
Less than a week remains until the sides reach what management says is a Monday deadline for a deal that would allow the season to start as scheduled on March 31. Players have not said whether they accept that timeframe, and there remains a sense both sides are awaiting more time pressure to force more major moves by the other.
Still, the sides agreed to meet for a third day in a row Wednesday, the 84th day of the second-longest work stoppage in baseball history.
Players made a tiny shift toward management Tuesday on their proposal for increased salary arbitration eligibility, lowering to the top 75% by service time among the group with at least two seasons in the majors but less than three.
The union last week came off its prior demand that all two-year players be eligible — the level from 1974-86 — and instead proposed the top 80% by service. Teams have said any movement in this area is not significant because management maintains it will never agree to any increase.
Players took a step back from clubs in their proposal for major league minimum salaries, which had been for $775,000 this season with $25,000 annual increases during a five-year deal to $875,000 in 2026. The union instead proposed a $30,000 rise each year, to $895,000 in the final year.
The union calculated its movement for the day as $25 million over five years. The $5 million average amounts to just over 0.1% of player compensation that totaled $4.05 billion last season, down from a record high of just under $4.25 billion in 2017.
The sides drew closer on their proposals for a lottery that would determine the early picks in each year’s amateur draft, with the union lowering its proposal to the top seven selections from eight, a day after management raised from three to four. The union also is asking for other adjustments that management hasn’t been interested in.
There were two sessions, a main meeting followed by caucuses and then a two-on-two discussion among union lead negotiator Bruce Meyer, Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem, Colorado CEO Dick Monfort and New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer.
The sides had met on consecutive days just once before, on Jan. 24 and 25.
There was no movement on the biggest issue: luxury tax thresholds and rates.
The union made its last proposal just before the lockout started Dec. 2, dropping from $248 million to $245 million for this year, with a rise to $273 million by 2026.
Teams have been offering an increase from last season’s $210 million to $214 million in both this year and next and they have not moved off that. On Feb. 12 they upped their proposal by $2 million annually in each of the final three season of a deal: $216 million in 2024, $218 million in 2025 and $222 million in 2026.
Teams have told the union they will not decrease revenue sharing and will not add new methods for players to accrue service time, which players said are needed to prevent teams from holding players back to delay free agency.
There also was no change in the proposals for a pool of money devoted to players not yet eligible for salary arbitration. The union is at $115 million and clubs at $20 million.
Management termed this a step backward because the union increased its plan by $15 million on Feb. 17, five days after teams accepted the union concept and offered $10 million. Clubs upped their offer to $20 million on Monday, when negotiations were shifted from New York to Roger Dean Stadium, the spring training home of the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.
While much of the focus is on the deal’s impact on the top of the market, the union also asked Tuesday for increases in the minor league minimum, which was $46,600 last year for a player signing his first big league contract and $93,000 for a player signing a second or later major league contract.
The union increased Tuesday from $65,200 to $66,000 for initial contracts this year and from $130,400 to $131,200 for later contracts. The figures would climb to $73,400 and $145,900 by 2026, up from $71,400 and $142,700 in the players’ Feb. 17 proposal.
Management also accuses the union of moving backward on service-time proposals.
Craig Ruttle
MLB and the MLB Players Association met in-person Monday in Manhattan for more than two hours, their second bargaining session since the lockout started in December and the most substantive talks yet. The league made a proposal to the players' union via Zoom on Jan. 13. Monday was viewed as the MLBPA's counter. They're also meeting again Tuesday, which represents progress.
David Zalubowski
The MLB side included Rockies owner Dick Monfort, who's the chairman of baseball's labor policy committee, as well as deputy commissioner Dan Halem, executive vice president Morgan Sword and senior vice president Patrick Houlihan. Lead negotiator Bruce Meyer and free agent reliever Andrew Miller represented the MLBPA.
Matt Slocum
MLBPA changed its tune on two things it hopes will spur momentum in talks: time before free agency is reached and the amount of money funneled to small-market teams (like the Pirates) via revenue sharing.
MLB players can currently become free agents after six years. The union had been arguing for a system that got some there in five depending on age — 30 1/2 to start, then eventually reaching 29 1/2 .
The union had previously asked that the revenue-sharing process was decreased by $100 million, but on Monday it dropped that ask to $30 million.
LM Otero
Tough to say, although a return to the bargaining table 24 hours later obviously isn't a bad thing. It's also important to consider context or the rotten relationship that exists between these two parties; common ground or positive vibes are hard to find.
Furthermore, the owners have certain things that they've described as non-starters in negotiations: any tweaks to the revenue-sharing model, plus how soon players can reach free agency and the timeline to arbitration.
Accepting the current system for free agency is a concession. The union's adjusted revenue-sharing figure was, too, although the owners might not care if they're truly unwilling to discuss a change here.
MLB players can currently become free agents after six years. The union had been arguing for a system that got some there in five depending on age — 30 1/2 to start, then eventually reaching 29 1/2 .
The union had previously asked that the revenue-sharing process was decreased by $100 million, but on Monday it dropped that ask to $30 million.
Sue Ogrocki
A lot, frankly.
Crossing free agency off the list, there's currently a sizable gap when it comes to how the two sides view the Competitive Balance Tax (or CBT) threshold.
It's currently $210 million. Owners have proposed a system starting at $214 million and reaching $220 million over a five-year period. The players are asking for $245 million. This alone tells you how far off these two groups can be.
Another key issue is minimum salary. The union wants to take the current number ($570,500) to $775,000 and $875,000 by 2026. Owners want to start at $600,000 and have it split into thirds: under a year of service, between one and two years and more than two, the latter two earning $50,000 and $100,000 more.
Those numbers, in theory, would jump $10,000 annually to reach $640,000/$690,000/$740,000 in 2026. None of this has been seriously discussed, which matters because minimum salary has a bigger impact than you might think.
Say a different minimum salary applies to 10 players per team. A jump from the current figure to, say, $650,000, would mean $79,500 per player, $795,000 per team and $23,850,000 across all 30 clubs.
Ross D. Franklin
This might be the wackiest topic discussed, in that it seems MLB wants to give some, but how the owners have done that is funky.
Service time in MLB, loosely, works like this: The first two years are team-controlled, where clubs set salaries a hair over the league minimum. The final three are decided by arbitration. The issue is the third one, where the top 22% of players in that class achieve what's called "Super 2" status and earn a fourth whack at arbitration.
Clubs manipulating service time to prevent this has long been a thorny topic, especially in Pittsburgh, and it's something the MLBPA would like to improve in the next CBA. The issue becomes how to do that.
Owners have proposed a formula-based system netting increased compensation for players with between two and three years of service time. They've also discussed a system that could net draft picks if teams place a top prospect on the opening day roster and that player thrives.
Teams would could earn a first-round pick if said player won Rookie of the Year or finished in the top three in MVP or Cy Young voting, a second-rounder for thresholds below that. One issue: Whose top 100 list are we using? Another: award voters might determine whether a team gets a first-round pick? Odd.
The formula-based system has also gained little traction. MLB previously offered to have salaries determined by WAR, and that was quickly scrapped. A concern over this latest ploy is that better compensation for players with between two and three years of service time would ultimately eliminate arbitration — something the union would like to avoid.
Some good ideas, sure, but plenty of work ahead.
LM Otero
Amazingly, yes. MLB has agreed to remove draft-pick compensation from free agents, which the union thinks could spur more offseason activity. The sides also seem aligned on having the designated hitter in both leagues and creating a draft lottery, though they differ on how to structure the latter.
To this point, the owners want to limit the lottery to three teams, with participants ineligible to draft that high in three consecutive seasons. Players want the draft lottery to expand to eight, a move they believe will at least partially address tanking.
Seems both sides are OK expanding the postseason, with owners lobbying for 14 teams and the players saying they will go to 12 — but play more games to try and match the revenue generated from a 14-game system. Advertising patches on uniforms are another thing where a solution seemingly exists.
Ashley Landis
Here's the crazy part of this whole thing. The DH has been the only on-field issue they've discussed. Nothing about pace of play, robot umps or shifts. No talk about tackier baseballs, roster limits, the use of replay or legitimately trying to grow the sport, either.
They'll hopefully get there, but neither side seems appropriately concerned with things that really do matter to fans. Would be nice to see them figure out the economic issues quicker and then concentrate on this stuff.
Charles Rex Arbogast
Baseball has endured eight work stoppages between 1972-1995 but none since.
The backdrop here is unique, too. Teams have been spending less and less on players, dragging the total number of salary dollars down to a level not seen since 2015 (a little over $4 billion). And while that won't net sympathy from regular folks, it has only made things more contentious between players and owners, who have received an increasingly larger piece of the financial pie.
That said, everyone was affected by COVID-19, which shortened the 2020 season to 60 games and delivered to owners virtually no gate revenue.
Owners contend they incurred around $3 billion in operating losses due to the pandemic-shortened season, and while it would be impossible to independently verify that figure, this much is true: Missing more games would not be good for business.
Ashley Landis
This part has been sometimes overblown. Spring training is scheduled to start on Feb. 16, so an agreement would have to come in the next two weeks to hit that deadline.
It's also entirely possible for spring training to be shortened. As long as they figure something out by late February, it should provide enough time for everyone to get to Florida and Arizona, clear COVID protocols and for pitchers to build up enough arm strength for a March 31 opening day.
Greg Lovett
Houston Astros' Jason Castro, left, and Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark arrive at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., for baseball labor negotiations, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. (Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP)
