Major League Baseball's ongoing owner-imposed lockout had one of its most important and most tense days Monday. MLB has said that if no deal is reached by Monday, 2022 Opening Day will be pushed back and regular-season games will be canceled. MLB reportedly said at one point during negotiations that owners would be willing to cancel a month of games.
Players were clearly frustrated, taking to social media to vent.
Mike Trout had a message for all, saying they want to play, but they need to get the CBA right.
He said, "Instead of bargaining in good faith, MLB locked us out."
Bryce Harper posted to his Instagram story asking the Yomiuri Giants, a team based out out of Japan, "You up?" He added that he had time to kill.
Harper is likely joking about playing in Japan, but he made his point, he does not see things with MLB going in a positive direction.
Instagram Story
(For what it's worth, MLB players can play overseas during a lockout. But even if Harper and other MLB stars wanted to head to Japan's NPB or South Korea's KBO, there are measures to prevent an exodus from happening, as CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson points out.)
Jameson Taillon commented on what is being called MLB's "threats" to cancel games.
"Players are used to their 'threats.' Owners actions have made it clear all along that they have a set # of games where they still make profits/get TV money," Taillon wrote. "They don't want to play. It's sad that these are the guys who drive the direction and 'future' of our amazing sport."
Yankees slugger and Taillon's teammate Joey Gallo created a LinkedIn account and posted as if he is looking for work. Jokingly he said, "I'm new here @LinkedIn."
Angels right-hander Noah Syndergaard offered his way to end the lockout quickly.
Nicky Lopez of the Royals and Randal Grichuk of the Blue Jays kept their thoughts concise.
