League, MLBPA set for bargaining session Thursday

Could Thursday's meeting between Major League Baseball and the Players Association mark the beginning of the end of the lockout that started back in December of 2021.

Henry B

Jan 11, 2022 - 1 min read

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, [Tweet link], Major League Baseball and the Players Association plan to hold a bargaining session this Thursday. Also according to Passan, "MLB is expected to make a core-economics proposal at the session, which would be the first between the sides since the league locked out the players on Dec. 2."

Following up on this report, Even Drelich of the Athletic also reported [Tweet Link] that during this meeting on Thursday, Major League Baseball is set to make a proposal to the Players Union, and the meeting will be conducted via video.

Bob Nightengale who covers Major League Baseball for USA Today published an article yesterday that the league was preparing to make a proposal within the next two weeks, and it looks like that will happen this week, which is a good sign and also a bit of surprise.

Towards the end of 2021, Major League Baseball informed the MLPA that they would only entertain economic discussions that didn't involve changes to revenue sharing, free agency eligibility, and the existing requirements for arbitration. This was also reported by ESPN's Passan on January 5, 2022. Have things changed over time? Either way, the clock is ticking as the first Spring Training games are scheduled to start on February 26 with pitchers and catchers reporting in early February. There is a lot of issues to discuss and deal with including, service time structure, league minimum salary, competitive balance tax, playoff expansion, revenue sharing, and the possibility of a universal DH.

Make sure to follow The Nats Report on Twitter for the latest information that comes out of the meeting and the days leading up to the meeting this Thursday.