Report: MLB owners vote for lockout with CBA set to expire originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Major League Baseball is set to enter a work stoppage.
MLB owners unanimously voted Wednesday night to institute a lockout, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
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MLB owners and the players association failed to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the expiration of the prior CBA at 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.
While the two sides have been meeting this week in Texas to try to hammer out a deal, a lockout has long seemed inevitable.
The owners “were not pleased” with the proposal made by the MLBPA on Tuesday morning, according to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich. Talks between the league and union on Wednesday lasted just seven minutes. Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the union rejected the league's proposal to drop certain issues from discussions, including the six-year reserve before free agency.
The players want, among other things, a bigger piece of the league's revenue, more money going to younger players and the luxury-tax threshold raised from $210 million to $240 million.
The players also brought up advertising patches on jerseys and a 12-team playoff format as potential ideas to generate more revenue, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The league had previously proposed a 14-team postseason format. To fit the 12-team format, the union reportedly suggested realigning each league into two divisions -- one with eight teams and one with seven teams.
RELATED: A look at the history of MLB lockouts
MLB has implemented a transaction freeze during the lockout, meaning teams can’t make any moves involving players on 40-man rosters.
This is baseball’s ninth work stoppage and first since August 1994-April 1995, which saw the cancellation of the 1994 postseason and 938 games in total.
Spring training games are currently slated to begin on Feb. 26, with Opening Day 2022 set for March 31
