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Lockout Negotiations: Some Progress, Still Work To Do

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Lockout Negotiations: Some Progress, Still Work To Do

As Matt Musico reported on MMO, MLB and the MLBPA are set to meet again Tuesday, following a session on Monday in which the players presented a counteroffer to a proposal the owners put forth on January 13.

While the progress on Monday toward an agreement can generously be described as modest, some progress is better than no progress, especially with February 1, the date by which an agreement is likely needed for an on-time start to spring training, is just one week away. The scheduling of a meeting on consecutive days provides more hope than the topics actually discussed.

The agreement to talk again so quickly shows that both sides recognize the damage a delayed start of spring training, or worse the regular season, could do to the sport. Perhaps the players and owners realize how tone-deaf a labor disruption will be perceived by the paying customers, or maybe they watched a great football weekend, and are aware of how baseball has become as visible  in the world of sports as the last line on an eye chart. Whatever the reason, at least they are sitting in the same room on back-to-back days, and that’s something.

Regarding Monday’s session, it was well-played by the MLBPA. While there are many issues on the table, the “core economic issues” are arbitration, free agency, and the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT). On Monday, the players conceded on one of these core issues, when they essentially agreed to keep free agency eligibility at six years of service time. The players had floated a desire for free agency to be either age-based or begin at five years of service time. The owners said they would accept neither proposal. So the players said (and the public knows they said), “we will give you this one, now you give us something back.”

It’s clear what the players want in the next session. They want the owners to move on arbitration, placing arbitration, or some other system where the owners do not solely control salary, at two years of service time from the current three. This would be a step to address the key plank in the players’ platform, increasing compensation earlier in careers. The MLBPA gave up something that while important to them, was not their most desired outcome. In doing so, they are looking for movement in the area of prime importance.

If the owners can come back with something that opens players with two years of service time, or at least a majority of those players, to a non-owner-controlled salary structure, then the strategy would have worked. Of course, the owners’ initial offer will likely not be accepted, but the players want to see movement in an area they have identified as critical. They gave where they could, to get in an area they have deemed crucial.

If MLB and the MLBPA can trade free agency concessions for arbitration concessions, then they can move to the third of the three core economic issues, the CBT. The players want significant increases in the $210 million thresholds over the course of the agreement (most likely five years), while the owners want very modest increases in the next CBA. Discussions on the CBT will be affected by where they land on arbitration and free agency, and negotiations on the CBT may prove to be the toughest of the three economic topics.

Issues such as a draft lottery to address tanking and an expanded postseason should fall into place quickly once the economics are sorted out. Rule changes, such as the universal DH, are not part of the current negotiations, though they still could be implemented for the 2022 season.

Now here comes the reality check. On Monday, the players made the most significant move of the CBA negotiations. The session has been described as “heated”, though apparently not so much to mitigate additional discussions. The owners now have to move on something, and while that seems like “Negotiating 101”, remember that the owners feel like they finally “won” in the 2016 CBA, and will be reticent for any give-backs. Their next offer will be very telling, and very well could set the tone for what is to come in the lockout.

A productive session on Tuesday could pave the way for a deal to be made, allowing spring training to start close to mid-February as planned. If the owners do not make a move that shows the MLBPA that they’re serious about making a deal, then talks could break off. If that should happen, spring training will not start on time, and immediately questions will arise about lost games during the regular season.

Baseball is in no position to alienate its fans, or to use a term that will resonate with them “their paying customers.” Tuesday’s session very well may be the pivotal point in the CBA negotiations. With their proposal today, the players have told the owners that it’s their serve, Let’s hope the owners don’t double-fault, and we can be on the way to a full season.

Lockout Negotiations: Some Progress, Still Work To Do

 

The post Lockout Negotiations: Some Progress, Still Work To Do first appeared on Metsmerized Online.

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