MLB and the MLB Players Association met again on Thursday, but didn’t make substantial progress on a new collective bargaining agreement. Pitchers and catchers were supposed to report for spring training earlier this week, but the lockout persists.
The union appeared unimpressed with the owners’ most recent proposal, given the MLBPA addressed only one specific area during Thursday’s session. The MLBPA reportedly revised its proposal for arbitration eligibility, asking not for every second-year service time player be eligible for arbitration, only 80% of them. They also proposed a pre-arbitration bonus pool of $115 million, up from $100 million.
The meeting lasted 15 minutes, but lead negotiators Dan Halem and Bruce Meyer stayed afterwards to continue talks, according to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich.
Those arbitration proposals are interrelated, both with the goal of increasing pay for younger players — consistently one of the union’s main priorities. Currently, 22% of players with over two years of service time are eligible for arbitration. That group of players is known as Super 2s, and MLB hasn’t barged away from that status quo figure.
Increasing that number from 22% to 80% of players with at least two years of service time allotted allows significantly more young players to go to arbitration, where they can earn fairer salaries.
The $115 million bonus pool applies to players with zero to three years of service time. It would affect players who reach certain statistical thresholds or who win awards, allowing star young players to make closer to what they could if they were able to hit the open market. MLB’s offer on a bonus pool is $15 million — $100 million off the MLBPA’s preference.
It makes sense that the MLBPA would increase the size of a proposed bonus pool attached to their decrease Super 2 eligibility because more players would then fall under the bonus pool umbrella; to have more slices, you need a bigger pie. Outside observers could realistically view that $15 million increase as a union concession.
The lack of movement in Thursday’s negotiating session is especially concerning given the timing. To salvage Opening Day, the two sides must come to an agreement by Feb. 28 — 11 days from now.
