NEW YORK — It’s become clear that for the first time since 1995, MLB spring training will not start on schedule as pitchers and catchers were supposed to report officially on Tuesday.
Neither Major League Baseball nor the player’s association made any public statement this week as baseball’s ninth work stoppage stretched into its 77th day Wednesday.
Players and owners continue to discuss appropriation in an industry with $10 billion annual revenue.
“I am an optimist and I believe we will have an agreement in time to play our regular schedule,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said at a news conference last Thursday. “I see missing games as a disastrous outcome for this industry, and we’re committed to making an agreement in an effort to avoid that.”
On the Locked On Today podcast, Jeff Carr of the Locked On Reds podcast joined Peter Bukowski to discuss where we’re at with the lockout and where we’re going.
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Players have demanded significant change, angered that payrolls were $4.05 billion last year, down 4.6% from their record high of just under $4.25 billion in 2017, the first year of the just-expired labor contract.
The union has asked for salary arbitration eligibility to be expanded to two years of major league service, its level from 1974-86, proposed a decrease in revenue sharing and wants new methods for top young players to be credited with additional service time, which the union says would address its allegations of service time manipulation.
Management has said it won’t consider cutting revenue sharing or expanding arbitration. The sides are far apart on minimum salaries, the amount of a proposed bonus pool for young stars, and luxury tax thresholds and rates.
“They’re looking at a house on fire and they just pulled the weeds,” Carr said. “It’s a lot of negative right now around Major League Baseball.”
Spring training is obviously not going to start on time, but is there still a chance for the regular season to begin on time? Carr said if a deal can somehow get done at four weeks until the regular season start time, there’s a chance.
“Everybody agrees in four weeks you can get warm,” Carr said. “There’s a lot of MLB players that would like the regular spring training shortened closer to that. If they can get a deal done by March 1, we’re alright. But with all due respect to Rob Manfred’s quote about ‘we’re one breakthrough away,’ they need about six or seven breakthroughs at their current pace and when you meet two times in three weeks, that’s not great.”
While the owners are looking to keep a status quo in regards to the CBA, Carr said the players want to win negotiations this time, making it difficult for any constructive meetings.
“The players lost the last two negotiations when you look at how the CBA has unfolded for them in recent years,” Carr said. “So they want to win, they want to feel like they are coming out of these negotiations on top and when you put the idea of patience on the owners and a bit of revenge, if we want to go that dramatic, with the players, then you’ve got two sides that are fine not talking until they feel like they’re getting their way.”
Ronald Blum of the Associated Press contributed to this report