After 99 days of negotiations—ramping up mostly in the last few weeks—following the unilateral owners’ lockout at the end of the previous collective bargaining agreement, we appear to finally have a deal. With the newest MLB-set “deadline” of 3:00 PM EST, members of the player’s union voted on the latest counter-proposal from the league. The CBA passed by a final vote of 26-12. While the MLBPA’s executive subcommittee voted 8-0 against the league’s proposal, they were outvoted by their 30 player representatives 26-4.
BREAKING: Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor deal, sources tell ESPN. While it still needs to be ratified by both parties, that is expected to be a formality, and when it is:
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 10, 2022
Baseball is back.
Despite the league’s claims of the first two weeks of the season being cancelled for failure to meet their initially imposed deadlines, all 162 games of the 2022 season will be played. Opening Day is slated for April 7th, while the missed games will be rescheduled on off-days or played as double headers. Major league players and minor leaguers on 40-man rosters can report to their spring training camps as early as tomorrow, and spring training is slated to officially start this coming Sunday once the CBA is fully ratified.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand has detailed some of the new CBA:
Some final details in new CBA, per source:
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) March 10, 2022
* $50M pre-arbitration bonus pool
* Minimum salary of $700,000 in 2022, increasing by $20K per year
* CBT $230M in 2022, rising annually to $233M, $237M, $241M, $244M
* 6-pick draft lottery
* Universal DH
* 12-team expanded postseason
Other details include the elimination of the much-maligned extra-innings ghost runners, the return of nine-inning double-headers, and something that hung up negotiations over the last few days: the evaluation and possible institution of an international draft. Protections for service time manipulation such as a maximum of five options for eligible players are also part of the agreement.
Once the CBA has been officially ratified, regular offseason activities may resume. This includes what is expected to be an extremely hectic and rapid-fire period of free agent signings and trades once the lockout is lifted.
There are still other logistical needs to work out, such as the possible cancellation of the Rule 5 Draft and the evaluation of the international free agent draft. For now, though?
Let’s play ball!
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This is a developing story and Purple Row will provide updates as more information becomes available.
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