MLB cancels opening day after owners fail to reach deal with players

MLB and its players’ union, the Major League Baseball Players Association, failed to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), resulting in the cancellation of the league’s opening day and some regular-season games, according to ESPN. 

In a news conference on Tuesday, league commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters the players’ union rejected the final CBA offer owners presented to them. 

“The calendar dictates that we’re not going to be able to play the first two series of the regular season and those games are officially canceled,” Manfred said.

Players and owners have been negotiating on the matter for days, and league owners initially set a deadline to end negotiations on Monday. However, the talks were extended to 5 p.m. on Tuesday. 

Owners’ final offer included an increase to $30 million for a pre-arbitration bonus pool each year for the length of the deal. But the players’ union asked for an initial $85 million in the pool, which would then go up by $5 million each year, ESPN reported. 

The league also upped a proposal for a minimum salary offer from $675,000 to $700,000, moving up $10,000 per year. 

This is this the ninth work stoppage in MLB history and the first one since the 1994-1995 players’ strike, when most of the 1994 regular season and World Series games were canceled. 

The league and its players resumed negotiations last month after a December lockout by owners, CNBC reported.

Both sides will leave Jupiter, Florida, after spending nine days negotiating the new deal. Manfred added that no agreement would be possible until “at least” Thursday, according to ESPN.