MLB, the players union meets for the first CBA talks, sources say

Leaders of Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association gathered on Tuesday for their first official negotiating session just over six months before the sport’s collective bargaining agreement expires, sources told ESPN.

The long-awaited meeting between the parties marked the first foray into what many in the sport fear, a contentious and lengthy negotiation, with the possibility of a work stoppage upon the expiration of the current deal on December 1. Relations between the league and the players have become belligerent in recent years, with both sides accusing the other of acting in bad faith amid multiple unsuccessful deal-making attempts.

The league and union declined to comment on the discussions.

At the same time, baseball has enjoyed unprecedented economic success amid more than a quarter of a century of labor peace, and players and officials also continue to express the hope that differences between the parties can be bridged during the next six months of discussions. Owners and players alike understand that the $ 10 billion a year industry could be seriously harmed by a labor dispute.

The meeting, which was held via video conference, had dozens of people, including player leaders. It was the first negotiating session between the parties since the union turned down MLB’s offer for an interrupted and shortened season with full pay, including extended playoffs. Between those discussions and the failed negotiations over when to resume the postponed season in 2020, which led Commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a 60-game season, distrust between the parties deepened and fueled pessimism about the chances of a timely agreement that trickles around the game.

Negative sentiments on the side of the players have sparked since the last grassroots deal was instituted on December 1, 2016, further tilting the sport’s economy in favor of the teams. Players’ salaries have fallen for three consecutive seasons – and are also expected to fall in 2021. While the best players in the sport continue to reap huge windfalls – from the $ 300 million plus contracts from Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Francisco Lindor and Gerrit Cole to this year’s $ 40 million salary for Trevor Bauer – MLB’s middle class is significant downsized.

A revision of baseball’s core economic system is highly unlikely, sources said, citing the limited amount of time to close a deal and keep labor peace uninterrupted since 1995. The union nonetheless plans to focus on spending and competitive integrity – especially the promotion of competition by all teams – among his priorities with a new deal. Players are also in favor of funneling money to players earlier in their career, the option of free agency before six years of service, and a solution to – or at least a cure for – service time manipulation.

MLB, whose efforts to tie an extended postseason with a break this season were rejected by the union this spring, is expected to pursue a larger playoff field than the 10 teams that will participate in October. The league has also put a lot of time and effort into looking at possible rule changes that would help increase and speed up action in games, measures that could be considered at the negotiating table.