MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke glowingly about the sport’s recent successes and trajectory heading into the 2025 season during Cactus League Media Day, but also raised some caution over a likely lockout next year.
The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is due to expire on Dec. 1, 2026. Assuming MLB and the Players Association (MLBPA) have not agreed to a new CBA by then, a lockout will be imposed.
Given how forthright Manfred was in his remarks, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark begrudgingly made it clear players are expecting yet another workout, per Barry Bloom of Sportico:
“Unless I am mistaken the league has come out and said there’s going to be a work stoppage,” Tony Clark, the union’s executive director, said Friday morning to a few members of the media after meeting with the San Francisco Giants players at Scottsdale Stadium. “So, I don’t think I’m speaking out of school in that regard.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers figure to receive some blame for the seemingly inevitable MLB lockout, as a salary cap is expected to be one of the core issues at the center of CBA negotiations.
Manfred has acknowledged hearing plenty of concern from other fanbases about their team’s ability to compete for a World Series, and he intimated that sentiment was shared amongst some owners as well.
The Dodgers are set to have a payroll north of $370 million for the 2025 season. That figure certainly carries plenty of shock value, as 15 other teams have a projected payrolls of under $150 million.
History of MLB lockouts and strikes
Baseball was interrupted by eight different work stoppages — be it lockouts or strikes — from 1972-1995. There was nearly another strike in 2002, but an agreement was reached Aug. 30, hours before the players were poised to walk out.
MLB managed to avoid lockouts in 2006, 2011 and 2016 by coming to terms with the union before the collective bargaining agreement expired.
MLB lockouts have occurred in 1973, 1976, 1990 and 2021-2022. Player strikes in baseball history came in 1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1985 and 1994-1995.
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