MLB, MLBPA HAVE AGREEMENT FOR NEW CBA

MLB / Baseball

Written by Gus Cousins

Ninety-nine Days. Six deadlines. One McDonalds order. And a whole lot of coffee.

With Minor League Spring Training in full flight on Thursday afternoon, the news that all of us were so anxiously waiting to hear finally broke - there is a deal, and there will be an MLB season. Then again, there was not going to be. Amidst offers, counter-offers, and ‘S–t sandwich’ offers - a term so eloquently coined by ESPN’s Jeff Passen - both sides knew what needed to be done. A deal had to be inevitable, or else an already fragmented fanbase would splinter into an even more frail audience.

Rob Manfred, left, and Tony Clark | Source (Background Photo): AP Photo

There are many agreed-upon changes, a number of which affect the financial aspects of contracts, drafts, and free agency. The details are rather myriad and complex, but the basic framework of the deal showcases one clear thing - although not perfect, the MLBPA is a hell-of-a-lot better off now than they were before. Negotiation is not without compromise, a concept of which the Owners seemed to understand frighteningly little about until the second week of March rolled around. While nothing is ever perfect, this is the situation in which everybody wins the most. The players need to play. The owners need their money. And baseball fans all around the world need a break.

A few notable alterations:

• 12-team playoffs (up from 10)

• Regular extra-innings (elimination of runner on second)

• Increasing MLB minimum salary to $725,000

• 9-inning doubleheaders (elimination of 7-inning games)

(The MLBPA received 26/38 “Yes” votes, 20 was the minimum required for agreement.)

Along with pages-upon-pages of clarifying every technical part of the agreement, teams must now shift their focus to Free Agency that’s set to resume this evening. With that comes the overshadowed reminder of all the big names still out there - Freddie Freeman, Trevor Story, and ex-Blue Jay draft pick (yes, you heard that right!) Kris Bryant, just to name a few. Essentially, a one-month free-for-all is about to hit the baseball world - some much-needed craziness following the nuances of negotiations.

(From left to right; Trevor Story, Kris Bryant, Freddie Freeman - all current Free Agents)

A major part of this new CBA is about to have a substantial impact on Free Agency too - expanded playoffs are meant to drive up teams’ urge to be competitive, with the idea being to provide an incentive to compete instead of tank. Just this past off-season, Toronto and Seattle locked up Kevin Gausman and Robbie Ray, respectively, after finishing just one and two games back of the last AL Wild Card spot. Playoff expansion was a concept that management for every team saw coming for years now, with Texas Rangers’ GM Chris Young - a former pitcher - as a prime example; signing INF Corey Seager, INF Marcus Semien, OF Kole Calhoun, and SP Jon Gray to a combined $561,200,000.

Texas finished 60-102 in 2021, the third-worst team in all of baseball.

On the other end of Free Agency, certain players will potentially be affected by new rules surrounding the use of qualifying offers. While the CBA is complete, part of the agreement is to have separate discussions about a new International Draft - a feature that’s been heavily tied to the elimination of qualifying offers. July 25th is the agreed-upon deadline for this - however, if an International Draft does occur, its debut of it will be in 2024.

As for now though, tomorrow, March 11th is the first official day of Major League Baseball Spring Training. April 7th is Opening Day. Let’s have some fun, and play some ball!