Latest On CBA Talks

MLB's collective bargaining agreement expires five weeks from now. Here's the latest on what the upcoming CBA will look like and when we might hear an announcement:

• The players and owners expect some sort of luxury tax system will exist under the new agreement, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The luxury tax technically expired when the 2011 season ended and created a "hang-up" in the negotiations, according to Stark. 
• Owners continue to demand hard slotting for draft picks and the union won't budge, so the sides are at a "standoff," Stark reports. 
• The MLBPA aims to ensure that teams no longer surrender top picks for signing Type A free agents starting this offseason. However, the owners will only make this change in return for hard slotting, according to Stark.
• Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations, is the point man on the Dodgers' ownership issues and the collective bargaining agreement, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The sale of the Dodgers has slowed CBA talks, but it appears the sides will reach a deal within a few weeks.