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Baseball fans around the world are furious as the MLB lockout continues. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancelation of regular season games already, as the owners and players have not agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement. As recent as Thursday, it appeared the two sides were nowhere close to coming to a deal, creating further cancellations almost inevitable. On Friday, a potentially massive breakthrough occurred. The MLB Player's Union has brought a new proposal to MLB, one which includes re-opening talks of the 14-team playoff format, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.
Sources: As the two sides look to jump-start the CBA talks, the union has approached MLB with an offer to re-open talks on the 14-team postseason field, with the idea it can exchange this for more flexibility on the CBT numbers and other issues.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 4, 2022
Olney tweeted: “As the two sides look to jump-start the CBA talks, the union has approached MLB with an offer to re-open talks on the 14-team postseason field, with the idea it can exchange this for more flexibility on the CBT numbers and other issues.”
The 14-team playoff format has been a big point of contention with the owners this entire time. Of course, the more teams that make the post season, the more potential for major profits for team owners.
Shortly after Olney tweeted that out, he retweeted that it sounds as though the MLB Player's Union's hopes might be taking hold.
Hearing from sources on both sides of the CBA talks that they are hopeful that a renewed discussion of the 14-team playoff field could be a potential breakthrough — for talks that need a breakthrough.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 4, 2022
This is the first major step in the right direction as talks had stalled and both sides soured of late. This could be a game-changer if the Union truly is open to making this concession. It would certainly provide some leverage on the core issues they are fighting for, primarily the CBT numbers.
