MLB Rumors: 'Little Progress' Made in Labor Talks; Spring Training Delay 'Inevitable'

Don't expect spring training to start on time.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Tuesday's meeting between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association ended with "little progress" and that "a delay feels inevitable."

Passan added: "The on-time opening of spring training at this point is in grave danger and, frankly, would take a miraculous deal coming together to rescue."

Jon Heyman of MLB Network echoed those sentiments, reporting both sides are "disappointed" after the union offered "small" concessions such as decreasing the bonus pool from $105 million to $100 million compared to the league's suggested total of $10 million.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post used a football analogy to illustrate the situation:

He also reported the union is looking for more money for players with zero to three years of service time, less punishment for those teams that go into the luxury-tax territory and higher thresholds for luxury taxes.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the two sides are still "far apart" on bonus pool and service-time issues. What's more, Tuesday's meeting did nothing to decrease the differences in propositions for minimum salary ($775,000 to $615,000) and luxury tax ($245 million to $214 million).

ESPN's Jesse Rogers ran through a timeline of when various dates will be in jeopardy and noted a deal will likely need to be reached by Feb. 19 for the scheduled Feb. 26 spring training games to begin.

He said that Opening Day on March 31 will be at risk if there isn't a deal in place by March 3.

The lockout has no end in sight. The players have rejected multiple proposals from the league and made some counterproposals, while the league apparently isn't pleased with how Tuesday's discussions unfolded.

The two sides will need to come together soon if the season is going to unfold as scheduled, especially since offseason tasks such as signing free agents still need to be completed.