NEW YORK (AP) — For all the vitriol, Major League Baseball owners and locked-out players have closed the gap in recent weeks and are negotiating on similar frameworks for a new collective bargaining agreement.
With the lockout in its 96th day Monday, the sides remained apart to various degrees on three of the most significant items: the luxury tax, pre-arbitration bonus pool and minimum salary.
MLB told the union on Monday that Tuesday was the last possible day to reach an agreement that would allow a 162-game schedule, along with full salary and service time, a deadline first reported by The Athletic.
Openers on March 31 were among 91 games already canceled, and Commissioner Rob Manfred appeared to be on the verge of calling off more.
“This is a horrible, horrible situation. Everyone on the Yankees, everyone in Major League Baseball shares the blame, players, owners, executives for where we are. It’s a really bad look, especially (with) what’s going on in the world,” Yankees president Randy Levine said Monday on the team’s YES Network. “We all look pretty bad. … It’s embarrassing to be where we are.”
