Union rejects MLB’s final offer to end lockout, 2022 Opening Day delayed

Mar 01, 2022

Ben Burke Producer

By Ben Burke (Producer)

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement with the league’s players union (MLBPA)–to end the current lockout and avoid cancelling games in the 2022 season–has passed. The league pitched its final offer at around 3:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, with the deadline passing 90 minutes later. At a news conference after the deadline passed, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced he is “going to cancel some regular season games.” The video above includes clips from Manfred’s announcement.

“We worked hard to avoid an outcome that’s bad for our fans, bad for our players, and bad for our clubs,” Manfred said at the news conference, according to this tweet from SNY. “I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort by either party.”

Manfred canceled the first two series of the regular season for now, pushing back opening day from March 31 and trimming the number of games in the season to 156.

MLB’s final offer to end the lockout and avoid cancelling games came after nine straight days of negotiating with the union. The league and union held 13 negotiation sessions over 16 1/2 hours Monday. The “best and final” offer MLB sent included the following, according to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan:

No changes to prior luxury-tax thresholds ($220 million from 2022-24, $224 million in 2025, and $230 million in 2026). The union wants thresholds of $238 million in 2022, $244 million in 2023, $250 million in 2024, $256 million in 2025, and $263 million in 2026.
A $30 million pre-arbitration bonus pool with no yearly increases. The union wants an $85 million pre-arbitration bonus pool with $5 million yearly increases.
A $700,000 minimum salary with $10,000 yearly increases. The players wanted a $725,000 minimum salary with $20,000 yearly increases.

Players will not be paid for missed games. A study conducted by The Associated Press found players would lose $20.5 million in salary for each day of the season that is canceled.

While negotiations are over for the day Tuesday, both the MLB and the players union will have to return to the negotiating table to avoid having more games canceled. On Tuesday, Manfred said he has “been informed that the MLBPA is headed back to New York, meaning that no agreement is possible until at least Thursday.”

“As such, camps could not meaningfully operate until at least March 8, leaving only 23 days before the scheduled Opening Day,” Manfred said.

Tags: Society at Large

Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball Commissioner: “I had hoped against hope that I would not have to have this particular press conference in which I am going to cancel some regular season games. We worked hard to avoid an outcome that’s bad for our fans, bad for our players and bad for our clubs. I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort by either party.”

“The calendar dictates that we’re not going to be able to play the first two series of the regular season and those games are officially canceled. We’re prepared to continue negotiations. We’ve been informed that the MLBPA (Player’s Association) is headed back to New York, meaning that no agreement is possible until at least Thursday.”

“My deepest hope is that we get an agreement quickly. We’re back on the field and we get back into that market and compete effectively.”

“We never used the phrase ‘last, best and final offer’ with the union. We said to them that it was our best offer prior to the deadline to cancel games. Our negotiations are deadlocked right now, but I’m not going to get into, that’s different than using the legal term ‘impasse’ and I’m not going to do that.”

“We went through a really long nine or 10 days. We had a really late night last night and not a particularly productive day today. We need to regroup and figure out how we’re going to move the process forward. That’s the best I can do for you.”

“The concern about our fans is at the very top of our consideration list, followed closely by places like where we’re standing, where people’s livelihood depends on baseball, spring training baseball and certainly an important part of the calculus for us and for our owners.”