MLB Moves Deadline to Tuesday as Sides Inch Closer to Deal

There is no new deal, but there is renewed hope of the 2022 MLB season starting on time.

The league and players union met more than a dozen times over a day of negotiations that lasted over 16 hours in Jupiter, Florida. Their talks did not result in a new collective bargaining agreement, but enough progress was made to compel MLB to push back its deadline to Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. PST.

MLB spokesperson on the league’s new, moved 5 p.m. ET deadline tomorrow: “We want to exhaust every possibility to get a deal done”

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 1, 2022

The league threatened to cancel games and delay the start of the season if the sides could not finalize an agreement today. Opening Day on March 31 is still intact.

While major issues need to be ironed out, such as the luxury tax threshold, other key decisions appear to be settled. Most notably, multiple reports indicated that the league will expand the postseason to 12 teams.

The two sides have reached agreement on a 12-team playoff pool but still are apart on the luxury tax threshold ($220 million) minimum salary($675,000) and pre-arbitration bonus pool ($25 million). They will meet again in the morning with 5 pm deadline

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 1, 2022

Talks will continue in Florida Tuesday, a day some suspect will bring a new CBA. If negotiations stall we will find out how firm MLB is on its deadline, and how willing they are to cancel regular season games.

There will be no deal on a new collective-bargaining agreement in this early hour, sources tell ESPN. Enough progress was made that MLB and the MLBPA will meet again later today in hopes of finalizing one. Deadline to miss regular-season games has been moved to 5 p.m. today.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2022