The owners and players of baseball took the first steps toward salvaging opening-day, coming to an agreement on Friday regarding an amateur draft lottery. This was during lockout negotiations that also included a surprise meeting between Tony Clark and Commissioner Rob Manfred.
Although an agreement was not reached on the draft, it appeared that talks were gaining momentum for the first-time.
The talks will continue on Saturday. Major League Baseball has given a Monday deadline to reach a deal. This would guarantee a 162-game season, and allow openers as planned on March 31.
MLB also announced that spring training games were canceled until March 7. Although exhibition games were scheduled to begin Saturday, they had previously been canceled through March 4.
The sides met Friday three times, in addition to the Manfred-Clark session. After four days of mostly futile negotiations sessions, which mainly focused on exchanging propositions in areas of relative minuteia, the sides finally met.
Manfred was able to meet both sides at Roger Dean Stadium (spring training home of the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Miami Marlins), for the first time during the talks.
The Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, Colorado CEO Dick Monfort and Executive Vice President Morgan Sword were part of the owners’ delegation.
Clark led a delegation that included Max Scherzer and Andrew Miller, as well as Zack Britton, a member of the eight-man executive subcommittee.
The 86th day of the ninth baseball work stoppage, the first since 1995, saw both sides continue to negotiate key economic issues such as the luxury tax rates and thresholds, minimum salaries, and the size and composition of the bonus pool for pre-arbitration athletes.
Thursday’s new proposals were made by the union. They make minor changes to its plans for a lottery to select the first seven amateur draft picks and to its formula to ensure that top young players receive credit for extra major league service. The teams say they won’t agree to the extra service time. This could result in earlier free agency.
Management says the union will not accept concepts that would increase arbitration eligibility or decrease revenue sharing.
The players haven’t accepted Monday as the deadline. They suggested that any games missed could be made up in doubleheaders, which MLB has rejected.
After Monday is over, the length and time of the schedule will become a problem in the dispute.
MLB has been informed by the union that if games are not played and salaries are lost clubs shouldn’t expect players to accept management’s plans to expand the postseason or allow advertising on helmets.
The spring training exercises were supposed to have begun February 16.
