One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

 One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

At one point we thought the MLBPA, and owners could actually come to an agreement and get baseball started on time. That is, and has been, shunned as a possibility. On Wednesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that a total of four series of the MLB season would be cancelled, and April 14th is now the tentative start date. Fans are hurting, I am hurting, we are all begging for this to end. 

It was reported early on in this lockout that MLB owners "don't care" about April baseball because that is their lowest point of attendance in the season and when they make the fewest amount of dollars in the entirety of the season. Owners are willing to holdout into early May in order to get their demands met. Players are holding strong but, luckily, both sides have found some, albeit few, common areas and agreements.

The progress made in CBA talks was players going from their request of $288 million for the competitive balance tax down to $232 million and lowered their pre-arbitration request from $80 million to $65 million. While MLB is only reportedly "mulling" the counteroffer, it shows signs of progress between the two sides where talks have stalled.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle yet is coming in the form of the international draft. MLBPA has long opposed an international draft citing that it would crush the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and more. As of now, players in these international leagues and countries are simply scouted and signed. Some are signed as young as 14 and become employees of the team and are paid to play baseball and hone their skills. If an international draft was implemented there would be no international signings like this anymore. Players would be pooled together, and a separate draft would be held for international players apart from the current MLB draft that takes place in June. MLBPA also opposes this because they believe it would "regulate" talented international players in the sense that the worst teams get the best players, personally I am not opposed to this, but MLBPA makes another great point when they say that the players would no longer be able to choose which team they want to sign with. Considering the current MLB draft, it is hypocritical.

In a way to entice the union, MLB offered to eliminate the draft pick compensation given to amateur draft picks that sign away in free agency. As it sits now, MLB will continue its lockout until at least April 14th and possibly into the month of May and there will not be a 162-game season for any MLB team.