MLB and MLBPA Unlikely to Meet on Big Items Until January

Meetings on big items between the League and the Players Association are unlikely to happen until January.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

It's been two weeks since the start of the lockout between Major League Baseball and the MLB Player's Association, and there has been little progress made between the two parties.

An article from Evan Drellich of The Athletic stated that the two sides are meeting on Dec. 17 to discuss issues of a smaller magnitude, however, the big-ticket items, such as "core economics" most likely won't be discussed until Jan. 2022.

Beyond the blanket term "core economics," it's unclear what exactly these key issues entail, but if the earlier reports indicate anything, they could be about arbitration or a tax to make the game more competitive.

As Drellich explains, when it comes to meeting about these issues, it's not certain who will be leading the conversation.

As the lockout carries on into the new year, it will start to impact the trajectory of the 2022 regular season which may impact the speed or pacing of this lockout. During the last stoppage of play in 1995, it lasted five months, and a shortened 144-game season followed.

With the first exhibition matches of spring training scheduled in over two months and teams around the league still selling regular season tickets, there's hope that the lockout will end before March.

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

• How The Pre-Lockout Spending Spree Could Impact Negotiations
• Grading the Phillies' Transactions Prior to the Lockout
• 5 Things That Must Happen for the Phillies in 2022

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