The MLB postseason is just a few weeks away, with the Los Angeles Dodgers looking for their second straight World Series title. Big-market clubs like the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets should be vying for the title as well. But that does not mean labor negotiations are peaceful. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that MLB owners will push for a salary cap, knowing it could cost the entire 2027 season due to a lockout.

“MLB wants a salary cap, and between now and Dec. 1, 2026, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires, those two words — which owners regard as a necessity and the MLBPA as a profanity — could presage the fate of the 2027 season. Owners, sources said, have not yet decided whether they will take the biggest run at the implementation of a cap since 1994, when the union's refusal to budge on the matter led to the cancellation of the World Series. Players are preparing for it, though, and plan to refuse any such entreaties, regarding a continued pursuit of a cap as a declaration of war.”

“As much as MLB wants a salary cap now, multiple owners said they believe the only real path to one would require missing the 2027 season. And as unpalatable as that is to players, it's similarly so to owners, not just because of what they'd lose out on today but the money they would cede in the future,” Passan continued.

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There have been cries that MLB is unfair after the Dodgers loaded up their roster thanks to Shohei Ohtani's deferred contract. Could the success of the small-market Milwaukee Brewers change people's opinion on the salary cap? Or will small-market owners want to even the playing field and handcuff the Dodgers and Yankees?

The current MLB CBA ends after the 2026 season, giving fans one more year of this current system. When baseball comes back with a new CBA, the entire sport could look very different.