MLB News: Major League Baseball and MLBPA Finally Have a Meeting Scheduled
Last week, it was reported that MLB was going to submit new proposals to the MLBPA in the next two weeks.
Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, the two parties will meet this Thursday to discuss the “core-economics” of a new CBA.
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association plan to hold a bargaining session Thursday, sources tell ESPN. MLB is expected to make a core-economics proposal at the session, which would be the first between the sides since the league locked out the players on Dec. 2.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 11, 2022
Baseball fans have been starving for any news of positive movement towards a new CBA. As Passan mentions, the last time MLB and the MLBPA were in the same room was December 2nd.
On January 3rd, it was reported that the two parties didn’t even have a date in the books.
MLB and MLBPA will need to come to agreement before February 15th if spring training is to begin on time.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will this new CBA. From the luxury tax threshold to playoff expansion, MLB and the MLBPA have a litany of issues they’ll need to agree on. This is hopefully the first of many January meetings between the two.
Thursday is a step in the right direction.
Dodgers: Another Baseball Insider Talks Trevor Bauer’s Future in MLB
Hopefully Manfred will finally be fired and be banned from baseball for life.
Kill the luxury tax, which clearly doesn’t work in any iteration, and institute a serious cap like in the NBA along with its exceptions. Then Boras can’t overcharge for error- and injury-prone guys like Seager out of one corner of his mouth, and then accuse owners of “throwing in the towel” out of the other corner of his mouth. Salaries could level out, nobody will pay a 10/$350MM anymore and players couldn’t be (and shouldn’t be) “worth” so much. If basketball can make it with a cap, and football with a cap AND non-guaranteed contracts, then why can’t both sides of baseball just commit to a cap? It won’t ruin the game at all. The revenue sharing could be reworked into giving all players long-term health insurance so that the rich players don’t have to launch their own Fundraising for the serviceable guys who couldn’t make $100MM in their entire careers, or the oft-injured guys who can’t catch a break.
The MLBPA will never give into a salary cap. Of all items to negotiate, salary cap is not one of them. Also, as much of a “pain” we as fans see Boras, he might be better at his job than anyone.