Rob Manfred Says MLB, MLBPA Meet 'Regularly' for CBA Talks Amid Salary Cap Buzz

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN on Sunday that "we're planning on playing baseball next year" amidst mounting pessimism about the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations and the possibility of a lockout in 2027.

"We're meeting regularly, which is good," he added during the Little League Classic regarding those labor talks. "Every week, we've had days where we've met with the players. It's early, but we've got a lot of work to do, and we're at it. Look, our goal is to make a deal. We want to make a deal. We want to play baseball next year. We're planning on playing baseball next year."

The main hurdle in negotiations is the desire from the owners to add a salary cap, something the MLBPA has consistently said it would never accept. The players, meanwhile, are seeking a higher minimum salary, reduced restrictions on the luxury tax threshold and improvements to the bonus pool before arbitration.

Most fans want more competitive balance, annoyed that teams like the Dodgers seem to endlessly add talent and salary while five MLB franchises currently have a payroll less than $100 million. There's a strong argument to be made that more competitive balance could be added by increasing the payroll floor, adding stricter rules regarding deferred contracts and finding unique ways to increase revenue sharing, however.

Players have argued that a salary cap would limit their earning potential in the long term and that the owners are largely seeking a cap to increase franchise valuations. It also would be complicated for teams set to have payrolls above the $245.3 million hard cap in future seasons, or for teams dramatically below the owners' proposed $171.2 million floor. Some sort of grace period, perhaps over multiple seasons, would be necessary.

Either way, the expectation remains that the owners will lock out the players if a salary cap isn't accepted. Regardless of Manfred's remarks, the 2027 season remains very much in jeopardy.