Major League Baseball and the Players Association (MLBPA) failed to get a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in place by the March 1 deadline, and it led to Opening Day along with the first two series of the regular season.
Although significant discrepancies exist, the two sides have seemingly agreed to the universal designated hitter and some form of a Draft lottery, but the key issue remains the core economics.
Players remain frustrated that average payrolls have been dropping despite the sport’s increasing revenue. While the financial side does remain as the biggest hurdle, there is also a holdup over what the new expanded playoff format would look like.
Both sides are open to expanding the postseason, but the details still need to be worked out. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred believes an expanded playoffs would benefit not only the league, but players and fans as well, via MLB Network:
“We’d like to expand the playoffs. It is good for players and for clubs, and it’s also good for our fans. The vast majority of whom enjoy playoff baseball. We think the new format will encourage more clubs to compete, while giving more players the opportunity to participate in the postseason.”
The biggest issue with potentially expanding the postseason was MLB wants to increase to 14 teams, while the players remained adamant it not go past 12.
Expanded playoffs were previously used during the 2020 season as the league had 16 teams competing October. With that came the introduction of the first ever Wild Card Series.
How expanded postseason factors into CBA negotiations
Another issue in CBA negotiations is both sides debate who the expanded playoffs benefits more so they can use it as a bargaining tool.
The Players Association argue that the postseason is more profitable for team owners, so increasing the total number of games and clubs in the format would make the league more of the money.
MLB counters that clubs will be encouraged to compete, which means being more aggressive financially, and the overall pool of players who have the opportunity to play in the postseason increases.
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