The start of 2022 Spring Training has officially been delayed as MLB and the Players Association (MLBPA) continue to make little progress on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
There was some optimism last week when MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Spring Training remained on schedule and the league was preparing to present the union with a “good faith” counteroffer.
But like other meetings during the offseason, that proved to be fruitless. Five days after receiving the 130-page offer, the MLBPA provided MLB with their latest counter on Thursday.
According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, the Players Association adjusted their requests centered around those who qualify for Super Two status and the pre-arbitration bonus pool:
In its new proposal, the union asked for 80% of players with two years of service time to enter the arbitration system, down from a previous request of 100%. Currently, 22% of second-year players — known as Super 2s — enter arbitration.
Under the new offer, 20% of second-year players would remain in pre-arbitration, but the union also increased its request to $115 million in the pre-arbitration bonus pool for the top 150 players.
The union previously had sought $100 million for a bonus pool along with wanting all players who reach two years of service time to qualify for arbitration. Every indication thus far has been the league is not budging on their stance against changing the arbitration process.
MLB has included a pre-arbitration bonus pool in their proposals, but it’s topped out at $15 million.
Several reports indicated Thursday’s meeting between MLB and the MLBPA only lasted a mere 15 minutes. Though, MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem and MLBPA chief negotiator Bruce Meyer were said to have then held a one-on-one discussion.
MLB, MLBPA facing CBA deadline
In their meeting over the weekend, MLB reportedly informed the MLBPA of a February 28 deadline to get a CBA in place, or Opening Day would be pushed back from March 31.
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