Pitchers and catchers were supposed to report to their teams' camps in Florida and Arizona earlier this month, thereby marking the official start of spring training. Instead, Major League Baseball's owner-imposed lockout is approaching its three-month anniversary, and the work stoppage is beginning to imperil the beginning of the regular season. For now, Opening Day remains scheduled for March 31. In an effort to reach a new CBA, MLB and the MLBPA are set to hold daily meetings this week.
MLB reportedly views Feb. 28 as the latest date the two sides can reach an agreement without delaying Opening Day.
Given the back-and-forth, we here at CBS Sports wanted to provide a crash course on the lockout. Below, you'll find a timeline of events, as well as details on what both sides are asking for and what they've agreed upon, and a note on what comes next.
Timeline of the lockout
Dec. 2: The lockout began shortly after midnight on December 2, or with the official expiration of the previous CBA. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced in a statement that the 30 owners had voted unanimously in support of the lockout: "We hope that the lockout will jumpstart the negotiations and get us to an agreement that will allow the season to start on time."
Jan. 13: Despite Manfred claiming they intended the lockout to "jumpstart" negotiations, the league waited more than six weeks to make its first proposal, with that coming on Thursday, January 13. The proposal, which was not received well by the union, included an increase in the minimum salary; tweaks to draft-pick compensation; and adjustments to a draft lottery system that would be implemented to curb tanking.
Jan. 24, 25: The two sides met, on consecutive days this time, with the union rejecting most of, if not all of the league's proposal during those sessions. Both sides did concede on various issues during these meetings. The players walked away from asking for age-based free agency and earlier arbitration, and the league scrapped its original request to do away with the "Super Two" tier of the arbitration system.
Feb. 1: The parties met for about 90 minutes to again discuss core economic issues. This meeting was highlighted by the MLBPA lowering its requests as it pertained to curbing service-time manipulation and the size of the bonus pool earmarked to award high-performing players who were in the pre-arbitration phase of their career. The players offered an expanded, 12-team postseason and the universal designated hitter.
Feb. 3: MLB requested the help of a federal mediator to resolve the lockout. The union declined to partake a day later, on Feb. 4, citing how MLB had failed to deliver the counterproposal it had previously promised. "The clearest path to a fair and timely agreement is to get back to the table," an MLBPA statement read.
Feb. 10: Manfred addresses the media for the first time during the lockout. He does not announce an official delay to spring training, as expected, and again expresses his optimism that a deal will be done before the season is compromised.
Feb. 17: The union offers its latest proposal for a CBA framework. In it, the players soften their request for salary arbitration after two years by instead proposing to significantly expand the super-two pool. As well, the players ask to expand the discussed bonus pool for pre-arbitration players.
Feb. 18: MLB officially announced the start of spring training will be delayed one week, from Feb. 26 to March 5. MLB and the MLBPA will meet every day during the week of Feb. 21-25 in an effort to reach a deal that avoids delaying the start of the regular season.
Feb. 21: MLB and the MLBPA met in Florida, though the league did not proposal significant changes. The two sides are expected to meet every day this week.
Feb. 22: MLBPA counters MLB's slightly tweaked proposal with one of its own. The union lessened its ask on how many players with 2-3 years of service time would be arbitration eligible and asked for a slight increase in minimum salary. The two sides did not seriously discuss the luxury tax for the second consecutive day.
What the sides want
The MLBPA's focus has been on funneling more money to younger players (by increasing the minimum salary and installing the pre-arbitration bonus pool), and on curbing anti-competitive strategies. The union has dropped requests for age-based free agency as well as earlier eligibility for arbitration. They've also scaled back their proposals as it relates to revenue sharing, a hot-button topic in these talks.
The league and owners, meanwhile, want to expand the postseason to 14 teams. Otherwise, the two sides remain at odds over the competitive balance tax thresholds and penalties (the owners' latest proposal on this front represents a radical shift from the norm); the exact increase in minimum salary; and the size of the pre-arbitration bonus pool.
What they've agreed to
The negotiations haven't been a complete waste of time. The sides have agreed to the universal DH; to the implementation of a draft lottery (though specific details are still unknown); and to the elimination of the buyer side of draft-pick compensation, meaning teams will be able to sign players without losing picks.
What comes next
The two sides will meet daily during the week of Feb. 21-25, which is the first time during the lockout any sense of urgency has been conveyed. It's anyone's guess as to when they're most likely to strike a deal, however.
A week's worth of spring games have already been canceled, and, as noted in the introduction, regular season games are in peril. MLB has indicated Feb. 28 is the latest an agreement can be reached without delaying Opening Day, though the MLBPA may not agree. Would an agreement on, say, March 2 delay the regular season? I'd bet against it, but we'll see.
If the regular season is impacted by the lockout, it will be the first time MLB has missed games because of a work stoppage since 1995.
