MLB News: CBA Negotiations Update

There's been some progress, but there's still a long road ahead.

MLB and the MLBPA are still a ways away from agreeing to terms on a new CBA. The two parties have met three times in January, but are far apart on important issues.

The first bargaining session in this month took place on January 13th. MLB submitted new "core-economic" proposals that were not well received by the MLBPA in the seven minute meeting. A development, that surprised no one.

Baseball labor update: There is no deal. There never was going to be one today. MLB made a proposal. The reaction among the players was not positive. Few on either side expected it to be. The question is how soon the MLBPA counters. Spring training starting on time is in peril.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2022

Passan’s Tweet confirmed the fears of many baseball fans - spring training will likely be delayed, at best. .

In addition to Passan, The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, have been the go-to sources for CBA updates.

All three reporters communicated that the MLBPA would submit their counter offer to the league this past Monday.

The second scheduled meeting in 54 days between #MLB and the #MLBPA is Monday where the union will present a counteroffer to MLB's proposals that was provided a week ago.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 20, 2022

During the that meeting, Drellich reported that the negotiations including progress. Unfortunately, the session also included communication from the owners that they're willing to cancel regular season games if key issues cannot be resolved to their satisfaction.

Heated MLB bargaining includes mention of canceling games — but progress, toohttps://t.co/lxdJ3tc3gy

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 25, 2022

The two sides reconvened the very next day. Per MLB Networks's Jon Heyman, MLB and the MLBPA began to cooperatively construct the terms involving a very contentious topic: compensation for younger players.

While a minimum salary increase to $775K from $570.5K sounds like a lot, both sides understand younger players deserve a bigger slice of pie. Management source says MLB (now at $600K) can move here w/ negotiation. Surprising stat (AP): 46% of MLB players made under 500K in 2021.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 25, 2022

The four experts are all adamant that MLB and the MLBPA still have a long road ahead on many issues. The competitive balance tax threshold, revenue sharing, and the pre-arbitration salary scale are just three, of the many, many major issues to be addressed.