MLB Rumors: CBA Deadline to Avoid Canceled Regular-Season Games Extended amid Talks

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reportedly extended the deadline to avoid losing regular-season games in 2022 amid positive labor talks into the early morning hours of Tuesday.

MLB said Monday was the deadline to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement to ensure no regular-season games would be lost, but the deadline was subsequently extended by a day, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The new deadline is reportedly Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET., and plans call for talks to resume Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.

Passan noted that while MLB and the MLBPA made significant gains Monday, there are still several sticking points that must be worked through before a deal can be reached Tuesday.

Among them are the competitive-balance tax thresholds, minimum salary and bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, as well as the possibility of an international draft.

Another hot-button issue was playoff expansion. MLB reportedly wanted to go from the current 10 playoff teams to 14, while the players asked for 12 playoff teams instead.

Per Passan, MLB had offered to give the players a $700,000 minimum salary and $40 million bonus pool if they accepted the 14-playoff-team proposal, but the players balked since they felt the possibility of teams making the playoffs with subpar records could adversely impact their spending on player contracts.

In terms of specific numbers, the players have been asking for a $245 million competitive-balance tax threshold, a minimum salary of $775,000 and a bonus pool of $115 million. MLB has been unwilling to reach those numbers, but it reportedly got closer Monday.

Passan reported that MLB offered a CBT threshold of $220 million, a minimum salary of $675,000 and a bonus pool of $25 million.

The MLB initially locked out players Dec. 2. The two sides could have moved forward without a CBA, but the threat of a strike then could have derailed the 2022 season.

At the time, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed a desire to avoid what happened in 1994 and 1995 when games were lost: "If you play without an agreement, you're vulnerable to a strike at any point in time."

Manfred also said of a lockout: "It's not a good thing for the sport. ... We understand it's bad for the business."

On Monday, when reporters asked Manfred for an update on the progress of the talks between MLB and the MLBPA, he would only say they were "working at it."

The lockout reached the 90-day mark Tuesday, making it the second-longest work stoppage in MLB history. As of now, a lockout or strike has only resulted in the cancellation of regular-season games three times in the history of Major League Baseball.

Spring training games have been canceled through at least March 7, but MLB and the MLBPA have managed to avoid the cancellation of meaningful games thus far.

That could change if no agreement is reached Tuesday, but based on the progress made Monday after a weeks-long stalemate, there is at least hope to salvage a 162-game season.