Although the MLB lockout continues as the league and Players Association (MLBPA) did not come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) prior to the owners’ self-imposed deadline, the Minor League season is still set to begin on schedule.
Minor Leaguers and those who are not on a 40-man roster, are not protected by the players union, so they aren’t impacted by the lockout and thus still able to interact with their club and can use team facilities.
Because of the lockout, MLB was not able to hold the full Rule 5 draft, instead just limiting it to the Minor League portion.
With no clarity on when the rest of the Rule 5 draft will take place, if it even does, teams are prohibiting rival scouts from coming to their facilities for the time being, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN:
Sources: Multiple MLB clubs have notified rival clubs that their complexes are closed to scouts until MLB camp starts or Rule 5 draft occurs/is canceled. Sources expect more teams to follow suit. Execs tell me the motivation is to keep Rule 5 eligible players from being scouted.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) February 26, 2022
The reason for such action is teams don’t want to lose players who may have taken a step forward this offseason, if the Rule 5 draft is rescheduled.
While it isn’t entirely common to acquire quality players through the Rule 5 draft, it does happen from time to time and teams are always looking for any advantage they can get.
MLBPA organizing training camps in Arizona and Florida
The lockout not only brought free agency and other business to halt, but players have not had access to team facilities since December. There initially was an expectation those recovering from injury would be permitted to use team buildings, but that didn’t come to be.
Such guidelines have heavily impacted a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had the likes of Caleb Ferguson, Tommy Kahnle and Dustin May all going through the Tommy John rehab process. Justin Turner also has been affected, as he usually works out at Dodger Stadium during the offseason.
In January, the Players Association (MLBPA) reached an agreement with D-BAT that allowed members of the union with at least one day of service time to use their facilities for free during the lockout.
As the lockout has now reached Spring Training, the MLBPA assembled a training camp for players in Arizona and will likely follow suit in Florida as well.
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