MLB Rumors: No New CBT Proposal Monday; 'Very Large Gap' in Bonus Pool Money

After a long day of meetings between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, it appears not much progress has been made toward ending the lockout. 

According to The Athletic's Evan Drellich, the two sides were unable to agree to a revised competitive balance tax proposal. In addition, Drellich reports there is still a "very large gap" in the pre-arbitration bonus pool. MLB reportedly raised the pre-arbitration pool from $15 million to $20 million. 

The CBT was first introduced as a luxury tax, but baseball owners have made it into an unofficial salary cap of sorts. Teams that exceed the predetermined payroll threshold are subject to the luxury tax. The further over the threshold they are, they more they are taxed. 

Owners look at the CBT as a way to save money. If they stay under the luxury tax threshold, they will not be taxed. Since 2017, the CBT has increased each season, though not by much, with the threshold for the 2021 campaign being $210 million. For comparison, the threshold in 2020 was $208 million and in 2019 it was $206 million.

The MLBPA's biggest concern with the CBT is that the tax level hasn't grown at the same rate as MLB revenues. The players initially proposed a $245 million luxury tax threshold for 2022 in collective bargaining agreement discussions and it would increase to $273 million in 2026 under their proposal, according to theScore's Travis Sawchik. 

However, MLB's most recent CBT proposal came one week ago. They offered a $214 threshold for 2022 and an increase to $222 million in the last year of the deal. That shows the significant gap between both sides. 

Also of note, per Drellich, MLB has withdrawn its proposal that was seeking the ability to control minor league roster sizes. The league also reportedly withdrew its proposal that would have limited the number of times a player could be optioned in a season to five.

The lockout began on Dec. 2 and little progress on a new CBA has been made between MLB and the MLBPA. The league recently announced that spring training games had been delayed a week due to the inability to reach a deal, and games could only continue to be postponed. 

At this point, the start of the 2022 regular season is in danger of being delayed. The first games are set to begin on March 31 but with a CBA still not in place, it's possible the start of the regular season gets pushed back. 

Players also need time to ramp up activity before the season begins. So if the regular season is to begin as scheduled, the two sides need to reach a deal quickly.