After 99 days, the MLB lockout is finally drawing to a close. The Major League Baseball Players Association has voted to approve the most recent counterproposal from ownership, setting the stage for a new collective bargaining agreement to be ratified, as first reported by Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extra Base. The new CBA covers the 2022-26 seasons, and the transaction freeze associated with the lockout has been lifted. The Score’s Travis Sawchik tweets that the proposal passed by a vote of 26 to 12 among the MLBPA’s 30 team union reps and eight executive subcommittee members.
Increasing pay for younger players, advancing the competitive balance (luxury) tax thresholds in a meaningful way, implementing anti-tanking measures and eliminating draft-pick compensation took center stage among the players’ must-have goals. MLB, meanwhile, sought to further expand revenues by widening the postseason field and adding advertising patches to player uniforms. The league also pushed for, and was ultimately granted, the creation of a fourth tier of luxury-tax penalization. Additionally, ownership saw to it that a handful of grievances filed by the MLBPA over the past several years would be dropped.
Among the more notable gains for the players, they’ll now see the luxury-tax threshold jump from this past season’s $210MM up to $230MM in 2022. It will rise to $244MM over the life of the agreement. Given the manner in which the competitive balance tax has begun to function as a soft salary cap among the sport’s top-spending teams, notable advancement was vital. The 9.5% jump in the first year of the new CBA marked a notable gain for the players’ side, even if it fell shy of their initial ask.
Other notable gains for the union include a newly created league-funded pool that will provide pre-arbitration players with bonuses based on performance. After much back-and-forth, the two parties settled on a sum of $50MM (just under $2MM per team) that can be divided among the sport’s top pre-arbitration stars. The exact parameters of how that will be doled out remain unclear, but it’s a notable uptick in the earning power of the game’s young stars.
Pre-arbitration players will also see a sizable increase in their base levels of pay, as the minimum salary will jump from $570,500 to $700,000. That number will grow by a measure of $80K over the agreement’s five years, pushing the league-minimum salary to $780K by the time the 2026 season rolls around.
The players also sought to clamp down on the issue of service time manipulation, and an agreement is believed to be in place that would award a full year of service to players who finish well in end-of-season Awards voting. As with the pool, the finer details have not yet come to light. On the flip side of that equation, teams now also stand to be awarded draft picks if young players on their Opening Day roster finish well in Rookie of the Year voting.
The hope among players is that such measures will bring star players up sooner, as the issue of service manipulation was seen both as a means of tamping down players’ earning potential and also a data point in a long string of anti-competitive behaviors by clubs. Essentially, teams argued that the best players in an organization should be on its Major League roster. Along those same lines, the union pushed for a draft lottery as a means of curbing the increasingly popular multi-year rebuilds that see a team effectively tank for premier draft position. While the lottery that was eventually implemented wasn’t quite as robust as the MLBPA originally proposed, it’s expected that the first six selections of the draft will now be determined in lottery fashion.
Perhaps the key victory for the league was the expansion to a 12-team playoff field — which will reportedly secure them an additional $85MM in annual television revenue from ESPN alone. The additional profits associated with any live game (gate, parking, concessions, etc.) will only add to that total. The league also succeeded in its desire to add advertising patches to player uniforms, which will generate tens of millions in revenue itself. Rates will presumably only increase during the spotlight of the postseason, making the extra games added via the expanded field all the more lucrative.
Major League Baseball secured a provisional agreement to discuss the implementation of an international draft, setting a July 25 deadline for the two parties to come to terms on a format that would go into effect in 2024. If an agreement is reached, the qualifying offer system pertaining to free agency will be eliminated. Absent an agreement on the international draft, the two sides agreed that both the qualifying offer system and the current international free-agent system will remain in place.
It seems we could soon have some rule changes on the horizon, as the league sought the implementation of several measures it believes will improve in-game action and pace of play. While the specifics and timing remain to be seen, the stage is set for measures such as a pitch clock, the banning of aggressive defensive shifts and larger bases — if not in 2022 than in 2023. The universal designated hitter, as has long been expected, will formally go into effect under this new CBA.
MLB also pushed for revenue-sharing grievances against the A’s, Pirates, Rays and Marlins to be dropped and succeeded in having Oakland reinstated as a revenue-sharing recipient. The A’s had previously been ousted from that designation in the prior CBA. A late revelation regarding their proposal was the push for the MLBPA to drop its $500MM grievance that claimed the league did not act in good faith during return-to-play negotiations in the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
Over the days and weeks to come, we’ll break out some of the finer details of the collective bargaining agreement and drill deep into the specifics of every new wrinkle. For the time being, however, the focus shifts immediately to one of player movement and the long-awaited return of the lifeblood of MLBTR: transactions! Owners are reportedly expected to ratify the new agreement on a 6pm ET call, and free-agent and trade activity can begin immediately once that occurs.
Prior to a lockout they all saw coming, teams scrambled to scoop up the offseason’s top free agents before the previous CBA expired. Thirty of MLB’s top 50 free agents were signed in an unprecedented November spending spree, with nine-figure pacts going to Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Javier Baez, Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, and Kevin Gausman. Now, three months’ worth of remaining offseason signing and trading is expected to take place in roughly a four-week period, creating a frenzy the likes of which we’ve never seen. The salary arbitration process will likely bleed into the regular season. You can review the best remaining free agents here, and our series of posts on the trade market here.
The bottom line in all of this: baseball is back, and it will be back in a big way. Spring Training games will commence late next week, and April 7 is now the target for Opening Day. Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Trevor Story, Clayton Kershaw, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and dozens of other free agents remain unsigned, while the A’s and Reds are among the teams expected to be active in trading veteran players coming out of the lockout. Stars like Matt Olson and Luis Castillo are among the most notable names expected to be on the market, and activity is expected to be nothing shy of frenetic.
As is the case with every trade deadline and Winter Meetings bonanza, we’re prepared to cover the deluge of Hot Stove activity to the fullest here at MLB Trade Rumors. After nearly 100 days with only minor league free agency, labor quarrels and countless “what if” scenarios dreaming of idyllic post-lockout days, we’re just as excited as the rest of our readers to have actual baseball transactions and actual baseball games now on the horizon. Thanks for sticking with us through it all, and let the chaos begin!
Freeman to Blue Jays confirmed tonight
Cool. At least we can dream about transactions actually starting up even if they don’t go down like that.
Finally
Shiver me timbers!!! Ahahahaha!
I would never shiver another man’s timbers. Not even my worst enemy. That just sounds cruel. I really hate being cold, though.
Now that everyone has filled their wallets, it’s time to PLAY BALL!
Supposedly the Rays are all over that.
@Joe says… the Rays have signed Freeman for $11 dollars, for the next 5 years. He took a discount to play in Montreal/Tampa.
Ah, the season’s first grand slam.
way to capture the important issue of the moment
Agreed. Anytime there’s more important issues such as Ukraine and premeditated inflation and all the other crisis being daily generated then yeah, stop trying to follow baseball. I’m glad Covid stopped that one day and just disappeared.
They said free agency can begin as soon as tonight!
Curious how all those “I’m never watching baseball again” peeps are doing. Over/under 2 days until they cave and continue following baseball again?
I’ll take the under.
Matt Olson in pinstripes, please!
I’ll take the under too… they probably never quit!
What’s wrong with you? I wanted to raise that question. Just for that, I am quitting MLB-R.
j/k
More seriously, I have never seen so many people whining. 28 years without losing a single game to a work stoppage, and these snowflakes were having absolute meltdowns. “OMG-the season will be delayed a week. The apocalypse is upon us. The first seal has been broken”
How do these people even make it thru a regular day? “OMG, my toner is low………..”
It’s all good, Joe Brady. Baseball is back. We smokem the peace pipe and jus chill.
Joe – You know what those doomsday folks remind me of?
That video of people going up on an escalator when it suddenly stops moving.
Instead of simply walking up the few additional steps, they stand still impatiently looking at their watches and complaining while waiting for a maintenance guy to come and fix it.
The 2020’s is indeed the “soft” decade.
The best part of this work stoppage was weeding out so many bad posters with the mute button.
FYI Patrick, you were not one of them. I enjoy dialog. A lot of this stuff couldn’t pass as dialog.
Patrick OKennedy
It’s all good, Joe Brady. Baseball is back. We smokem the peace pipe and jus chill.
===================================
It was actually always good. Like I said, there wasn’t going to be any losers. There was a choice between win and “win big”. The players got huge raises, and retained the bargaining chip of a 14-team playoff. They can use that in five years.
The owners won bigger. They got 12 teams and patches. I’d pure guess that to be $150M+ for the players and $250M+ for the owners. Reasonably close.
Now I just need to go back to beating up Yankee fans.
That video of people going up on an escalator when it suddenly stops moving.
===============================
I know it’s baseball, but it is symbolic of a bigger problem. After 2007/2008, some of the talking heads were saying that housing was dead. Not for any good reason, mind you. 13 years later, and everyone is scrambling for housing. Every time we have an election, the talking heads from the losing party predicts gloom. This costs real people real money, while those above the noise, end up with more money.
I cannot relate because I do not consider myself a real person.
For myself…. I’ll watch. I won’t pay to watch. I won’t pay for tickets or RSN’s.
I won’t spend a dime on them.
Luckily I have the MLB subscription for free. So I’ll watch. Lol
Way to take a stand. As for me, I’ll be shelling out tons of $$$ on game attendance and merchandise all summer long!
I think the company line is “No soup for you! Come back, one year! Next!”
Hope you are right it would be great to see but I still hope maybe the Padres
I highly doubt that the Jays will go too hard after Freddie since they already have Vlad at 1st and they don’t want him to go back to butchering, er, I mean playing 3rd.
Dreaming and hoping!
Finally!
Freeman resigns with braves after the team gets the Apple TV $.
I don’t think he would move to a fascist country tbh
I didn’t know there was a major league baseball team in Russia wow great comment nothing wrong with Canada eh! bud
We’ll just keep the sports pal anyway money talks right so if Freeman wants to come to Toronto it will all because of money that’s why there was basically a lockout. Thanks for your comments anyway
Hot (take) Carl?!
Donald, is that you?
BTW there is nothing noble and just about blocking the border and stockpiling weapons to kill police officers as happened in Alberta
Why do people who don’t know what they’re talking about in such a rush to always show their full a**? How are you possibly bringing up politics so unprovoked? Brain worms.
JD goat thanks very much I thought this was a baseball rumors not political BS..
It’s mutin’ time again! Goodbye Carl.
The only problem I have with Trudeau is that he waited too long. They should have confiscated those trucks after a week of that nonsense.
I’m a RW-C and have no use for Trudeau, but I’d have been paying tow truck operators in gold bullion to move the trucks. You can protest, but you can’t block traffic. And the guys that entered the Capitol building should’ve been shot, not arrested.
US government isn’t exactly perfect. Some would argue that it’s run by rich, corrupt, lying, sociopathic weasles. So realistically, how can Freeman justify signing with any of the 29 American cities? He might as well move to Toronto, which is beautiful I hear.
And Freeman can pay your rediculas taxes, so maybe he takes another look at the total cost of playing in Canada.
You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means…
Catuli you need to stop watching that Putin Puppet Tucker Carlson- your drivel shows just how ignorant of the world some of you Yanks truly are.
Spoken like a true communist.
You should have some affinity for Canada. Based on your post, your IQ appears to be equivalent to today’s high temperature in Winnipeg.
That wasn’t a peaceful protest, It was an occupation that disrupted the lives of thousands of locals. Imagine protesting for freedom while taking away the freedoms of thousands of locals to live in peace and earn a living. The convoy ended up embarrassing themselves. Every single one of those protesters would have called the police or worse, gotten violent if some yahoo showed up in front of their homes, blocked their ability to get to work, and honked their horn at all hours of the night.
Actually they would be communist.
I guess you missed all of the summer of 2020.
So Carl you do know all Fascists in history have been Far Right don’t ya? Get a historical education there bud before you go running your mouth off online without one clue what you are talking about.
You know all fascists are socialist right?
Completely false. But thanks for playing.
YoungTurk
All Fascists are socialists? Are you truly that lacking in historical knowledge? Fascists despise socialists , why do you think 100,000 socialists marched in protest the night before AH became chancellor. Why do you think he banned all socialist newspapers and sent 1000’s of socialist leaders to camps. Why do you think the Soviets and other socialist groups fought against Franco ( a Fascist) in the Spanish Civil War. But hey I guess in your extensive knowledge of history and political ideology the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( N. Korea) is really a democracy right?
Their system of government is socialist.
Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State.” Benito Mussolini.
Not false, just read the 25 points of N…azism.
You are confusing fascism , socialism and communism. Typical of those on the far right to mix all the ideologies together. Bottom line every Fascist state in history has been opposed by and have opposed Socialists and further to the opposite extreme Communists. If Fascist were indeed socialists how do you explain the vehement opposition to each other? Fascists organizations were also supported in all these countries by Wealthy industrialists and rich landowners IE Ultra nationalist Far Right conservatives.
Of course anyone that is center-right is far right to you. Who cares if other socialist are opposed to them. The fact is fascism is a form of authoritarian socialist government. Capitalism is the private ownership of goods and services with free exchange of them without government interference. Wealthy corporations being supported by the government is socialism as in the state penalizes one business and supports another. And in fascism their is a restriction on free speech and religion. Only speech and religions approved by the state are acceptable.
No that isn’t the case at all. But most right of center conservatives know that Fascism is a Far Right version of authoritarianism . The Far Left version is Communism . Only the Far Right try to promote themselves as angels while all the bad guys are on the Left. Fascists do allow private ownership of property and business why do you think so many German right wing conservative industrialists ( capitalists) supported them . One of the 7 founders of the party was a wealthy right wing conservative businessman. Go read some history dude, AH when he came to power first formed a coalition government with other Right wing parties and totally excluded all socialists parties. To totally ignore history and fact to try and push your narrative does not change the historical record.
Cool. While dreaming of make-believe deals (not likely to happen, since also, have to beat Yankees for his services.)
Question. Why is the new CBA, another five-year deal?
HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING?
THE BOYS OF SUMMER ARE BACK!
The whole missed games thing was fake news. Lockout was a joke
On the contrary, the lockout actually worked.
Did the owners get what they wanted? Seems to me it benefited the players more.
About 1800 games missed by players strike, zero missed by locked. People who still don’t understand the lockout was the way to go are either ignorant or stupid.
The fans benefitted by the lockout. No baseball missed
Don’t even joke about that.
Good news. The not so good news is the method you used to “confirm” this: you dropped your blunt in your beer, and you used the fact that it floats as confirmation that Freeman is moving to Canada.
Never randomly drop anything in liquid…unless it is a woman into water to prove that she is a witch. That is just science.
@jdgoat- and then you woke up this morning and realized fantasyland doesn’t really exist. Gotcha. Good luck with all of that.
Yesss!!! Thank you!! We’re back baby!!
Hell Yeah
U guys are about to have a long couple of days with the lockout opening up.
Bring it on!!!
It’s about time!!!!
Curious to see how the voting went between the MLBPA executives and the reps from each team.
How soon until we can sign Kris Bryant?!
Max will rant all about it on twitter soon. No doubt he is one of the 12 no votes.
Probably, all 8 Boras lackeys on the exec. committee plus 4 in the ranks too.
Prepare for the free-agent avalanche.
Not for the pirates!
Finally.
Yes!!!!
Finally!!!!!! Let’s go Dodgers!!!!
Aargh…down with the Ducking Fodgers! Whew, that felt good – so great to have everything back to normal!!… 😉
Okay but the real question is who had 3/10 in the pool?
I was a week early.
I did. But not 2022…
3/13! So close…
3/15 for me
3/11 for me
Thank goodness
LET’S F’N GOOOOOOOOOOO
WE DID IT!!!
Ha! I guess we survived intact.
Who’s “WE?”
No, who is on first.
We is on the bench.
I’m assuming its us; guys on the board.
& I get it. All the players vs owners brewhaha almost drove me completely away. Which…well, might have been seen as good news to a few posters. I guess by that same token it may be bad news as it was merely “almost”.
Now, I am a pretty optimistic guy, @gbs.
I wouldn’t want to be any other way either.
But that optimism does lead to being letdown. Ya know: “I can’t believe we lost the game”, “I can’t believe that little guy took Chapman yard!”, & very recently: “I can’t believe we are still arguing about the lockout.”
Good luck not sleeping the next couple of weeks. lol
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOO
PLAY BALL!!!
LETS GO!!!!!!!
MLBTR writers: time to get to work.
Yeah, and no cheatin’ with greenies either! On a more serious note, thank you so much for doing what you could to keep us interested, entertained and updated throughout the whole thing.
And thanks in advance for the hours that you’ll be facing now 🙂
I got to witness it live in class, lets go
Thank God. I never thought I’d be the type to actually be turned off by a strike or a lockout… but here I am. I’m sick of it
Be sick no more – rise and be healed! 🙂
Play ball!
Wahooooooooooo
Chief Wahooooooooooo
Down goes Chief Wahoo.
RIP to a real one. We love you, chief.
Finally
Bout damn time
LFG gimme baseball!
Waiting for shoe to drop
HOO-F’NG_RAY!!!!!!!!
About damn time!
It’s finally over
Not until the vote.
Finally
*visible tears of joy
I guessed March 11th in the lockout lottery! I mean, yay baseball, but one stinkin day off!
Isn’t it possible that it won’t be officially ratified/signed till 3/11?
It just got ratified, so just missed. Close but no cigar
Good news
CORREA TO CUBS IN T MINUS 30 SECONDS LETS GOOOOOO
LMAO as a Cubs fan I wish but no way that happens
@Catuli Carl- nah Correa signs with the Red Sox for 13 years, $381 million, since all cheaters deserve each other.
Hey capt, I 100% agree with you so he could go to the yankees just as easily.
Never see that happen.
well the mets were thrilled to Lindor last year…. have the medic ready if u get Correa…
Thank God!
Announce correa to orioles, Steve.
Never thought I’d want him. Guess I’m tired of losing
Freeman reups with Atlanta next
Finally! The next 2 weeks are going to be crazy. They should let us know who the morons were on the MLBPA who voted against it to ensure they are never again part of the group
It’s about stinkin’ time!!!
PLAY BALL!!
LFG!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!! But 12 no votes? Seriously?? Those players should be called out.
It’s possible it was planned to not vote unanimously as the relationship between the players and owners is seriously damaged and needs some time to heal…. before 2026…. (Maybe they are already setting the table for e next one)
Maybe in five years the MLBPA will discover it’s the 20 who voted yes should be called out. Time will tell…
Play Ball!!
Announce Freddie Freeman to Braves
Please.
Hope Manfred didn’t destroy the game completely!
LET THE CONTRACT FREE FOR ALL BEGIN
woohoo and stuff
Hip, hip hooray!
I’m gonna come
TMI
…to the Braves WS ring ceremony. Dang phone hit enter before I was…finished.
Now we get to see men play ball!
We are no longer out after further review.
The Mets can now start their dynasty of 7 championships in 10 years… or 7 last place finishes in 10 years.
in your wet dreams
I HAD 3/12 I WON!!!!!!!
I had 3/11 lol
Imagine if they hadn’t taken the ENTIRE month of December off. A-holes.
Owners created that pressure cooker… on purpose.
All righty, then.
Baseball is back.
I love baseball.
So exciting!
I’m so happy this is over (for now) I need baseball in my life!
As a baseball fan, I’m happy we have games coming and seemingly a full season.
I’ve always been more on the player side here, but I will give credit where due. Manfred did a spectacular job in doing his job, which is ensuring the owners will make even more money.
Let’s the free agent signings begin! I am eager, however, to hear the final details.
The owners are officially making less money. In every single area of negotiation, the dollar amounts went in the direction of the players. You tool.
Awww, boo whoo for the owners.
Actually, Manfred got Deals done outside the Negotiations. Remember Apple and NBC Peacock?.
Those 2 Deals pays everything the Owners gave up plus extra.
We will pay for those deals. I bet they aren’t the last streaming deals. The owners will make us pay for a dozen services to see games. They are pigs.
The total cost of increased minimum salaries to 700K and a $50M bonus pool is about $3.1M per team, or 91 million.
The apple deal is $85 million
Plus $30 million from Peacock
Plus $85 million from ESPN
Plus uniform patches at 6-8 M per team, per year
Plus new deals with Turner and Fox starting this season
The owners are swimming in cash
Plus uniform patches at 6-8 M per team, per year
==================================
Has this been approved?
One of the major insanities of the entire process, besides everyone quitting because the season was starting a week late, is people commenting on who’s ‘winning’, without knowing whether it was a 12- or 14-team playoff, and whether patches were included.
The difference between 12 teams with no patches, and 14 teams with patches, might be $250M+. It’s why I almost never commented on who needed to concede.
If it was 12 teams and no patches, then the players made out great. If this is 14 teams + patches, the owners did really well.
Plus extra playoff games
@JoeBrady, yes, the advertising on uniforms was approved by both sides. One estimate I saw said it could bring in over $200MM in additional revenue in year one, and increase from there.
The owners will make more money than they gave up in expanded playoff games, Tv rights, and advertising patches. YOU TOOL!!
Lordd: as the lone vocal opponent to the International Draft that I encountered, I’m genuinely curious how you feel about that being ratified. I believe it is best for the game going forward and I’m curious to see it all play out “soon”! (2024, right?) Anyway, enjoy the good news and first round’s on me at Petco!
@Gwynning, I’m not sure I’m the only one here who objects to the international draft. Perhaps I was the most vocal recently. Beyond my simple No! the other day, which seems to have upset a few posters, I have also outlined in other posts my very specific issues with an ID. I won’t go through them here again because I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to do that in the coming months, but I will say my main concern was the rushed nature and Manfred attaching the ID to free agent compensation in the final hours of negotiations. It seemed to be done in bad faith, but it was also clear that the MLBPA was not prepared to address the complexities of the issue, which go beyond economics and could impact the very survival of baseball in parts of Latin America, particularly the DR.
So that aside, I’m fine with the current approach. Step back and have discussions on the actual implementation that hopefully will address some key societal issues related to players in Latin American countries. Latin American players NEED to be part of the conversation and they weren’t.
Finally, I believe Manfred’s plan was fairly well thought out. There are parts of it I really like. So much so that they should consider them for the North American amateur draft. They could greatly help address the issue of tanking.
Amen bro, dialogue is key. You aren’t the only “opposed” that i saw, just the most vocal recently and my long-term memory remains spotty. My optimism says this will be handled in a professionally viable way for all included parties. Cheers to you and I’m sure we’ll discuss more about this in depth at a later date.
PARTY AT MY HOUSE
W BELMONT AND N DAMEN
I met my wife at a party in a three flat on Fletcher about a block from there.
Haha that’s awesome. Small world! Go Cubs!
Fly the W!!!
I HAD 3/11 I WON!!!!!!!
You might hit is on the nose depending on when the ratification vote takes place. I had the Ides of March myself 🙂
Yes! Finally!
Let the injury-riddled season begin!
Only injuries are the players who’s not in shape
Vlad just hit the 10 Day IL for what’s being reported as a “kitchen incident”
SIGN FREEMAN NOW
@Bravesfan59- for 6 years?
Once the Intl. draft issue was taken care of it was a given an agreement would be reached.
Free agency gonna get crazy!!!
let’s goooooooo
Welcome back fans. Nice to have you back with the rest of us. Now let’s get this thing going!!!
AA get on a plane right now and do not leave without bringing Freddie back to Cool Today for Spring Training.
It looks like the Player Union executives were holding this up. The Execs voted no.
Let’s play ball. And I’m sick of these threads. Time to go back to Angels threads.
We’ll do an Angel game Halo. First beer is on me!
I much prefer talking baseball.
Second beer on me; I am only a mile away
Yes, the uniform patches are in there.
I think it was Eno Sarris at the Athletic who said they were worth between 6- 8 million per team. More in bigger markets with more eyeballs on them on TV.
Now announce the headline we’ve all been waiting for: “Marlins Acquire Bryan Reynolds”
Great but does anyone have a mint? I still have a terrible taste in my mouth. I hope that it’ll soon go away.
I’m truly shocked. Compared to a couple weeks ago, I really thought they’d miss 1/4 to 1/2 a season. I could have lived without baseball anyway, the whole pissing contest did not paint either side in a particularly good light. But anyway, play ball I guess!
Now we can get down to trade/free agent frenzy
Happy days are here again! Now the wild free agent flurry commences
Better late than never! Whew!
Yah baby!!! Now Freeman and Grienke both sign with the Jays. World Series here we come
Greinke is cooked bro. He’s purely an innings eater at this point
Greinke can’t pitch long enough in game to be considered an innings eater, more like a long reliever who happened to start the game. Either way, Greinke is cooked,
171 innings of 4.16 era is still just fine enough for a back of the rotation starter. And still room for bounce back. “Cooked” is a stretch
Yahoo for School!
Randy Levine played the role Manfred should have played. Levine initiated this deal – indirectly.
Manfred is the HERO here. Exposing the garbage underneath it all and cutting cool deals with Apple and NBC in the process…The MiLB will have their best exposure ever. International Baseball structure is next.
Hero? You have a unique understanding of the overused term “hero.” Randy Levine kicked this deal into motion. That’s my strong suspicion.
Randy Levine is annoying, but he’s also very good at what he does. There’s a reason why when the Blue Jays were trying to hire a new PoBO/GM, they sought his advice. He’s good at making backroom deals.
Hallelujah!
MLBTR writers – you guys need something to get thru the next few days, I can introduce you to my friend Pinkman
It might be, it could be, it is !!!!!!
This site is about to get WILD…. let the games begin!
Well ok ok ok…
Alright, alright, alright.
Just in time for my business trip to phoenix next week.
WIOHOO!!!
My guess is a 162 game season was part of the agreement.
It had to have been. My belief is the players would have gone to war over full pay.
The lockout was good. 1700 games missed because of players strikes. Zero games missed because of lockout.
Had the players missed games because of the lockout, the players would have made the owners pay for the missed games.
“The lockout was good. 1700 games missed because of players strikes. Zero games missed because of lockout.”
You nailed it Halo!! 100%.
There was maybe a narrow way for players to get compensated from the extra playoff money if they missed revenue, but if there was a way for owners to schedule the games that bring in money, they’d do it.
The Tigers have a west coast swing to Seattle and Oakland canceled, so one series gets made up at the end and the other one- who knows?
Lots of doubleheaders? Or a World Series Thanksgiving?
They’ll start the season about 10 days late, add a week to the season and have a few double headers.
I can order The Show 22 after all!
On what system?
Let the craziness commence! Trades, FA signings, rumors – all far better news than the lockout negotiations!
MLBTR staff, I hope you guys used the downtime to rest and stock up on Red Bull, because you’re gonna be ridiculously busy for the next two weeks.
Hallelujah!!!
MLB retains their antitrust exemption. Players lost. Looking at the votes not much consensus amongst the MLBPA.
WHAT A NICE BIRTHDAY GIFT
Happy birthday brother
Happy B-day DarkSide830! *mug tap*
Happy Birthday, Dark!
162 game season here we go!!!!
I want names. Who are the 12 that voted against the agreement? It just shows you greed has no bounds.
Well, that wasn’t so bad.
It is about time. Let the 2022 season begin.
I’m totally done with baseball, never watching again.
So who said they were not going to watch baseball anymore over the last 99 days?
And I kept to that. I’ve watched no baseball over the last 99 days.
I see what you did there. no, I meant, who said in the last 99 days that they will not watch baseball anymore?
whyhayzee above, apparently. I dunno one of those people but I suspect the patrollers of this site will all be back when games start up.
I did and I will be keeping my promise with ease. Baseball is a dying sport. Start watching darts, it’s much more exciting.
99 days to do maybe 24 hours of work. Play ball
It was all those relief pitchers and trips to the mound.
For real. MLB can’t stop talking about “delay of game” and then they literally delay games
We have baseball! At least for a year or two. One thing for sure is the Players Association Sub Committee is a CANCER. They were outnumbered and overruled. The deal got reshaped outside of them. Thank Goodness!
Start announcing deals or we riot.
I wonder if someone is going to do a wellness check on the voice_of_reason.
He’s prone and turning blue but I suspect he’s just choking on his words…
Good to see all the excitement in these comments. Not hearing much from the “I’m done with baseball” crowd.
Anyone know if it includes DH for the NL
Yes. NL DH in 2022
Bigger bases, defensive shift restrictions, and a pitch clock in 2023
Have you seen anything about why they want bigger bases?
No defensive shift change rule for 2023 is trash. and how do they enforce that? what if a defensive player wants to play 5 feet from where “he’s supposed to be?” hwo is that even determined? 10 feet? 20 feet? More?
I’d guess it will be determined by how many ppl are “to the right of 2b, etc”
The bases are 99 square inches bigger. That’s about 4 1/2 closer to second base. The player has more room to avoid tags and it’s easier to stay on the base which should lead to more aggressive baserunning.
More aggressive baserunning is good for the game.
Pretty simple, You really don’t know?
It has to do with at least one foot on the dirt and at least one foot to on the left and right side of the infield.
@8Man
I hear ya, I don’t get it – but I’m reserving judgement for now…
The shift change is pathetic. Sorry that overpaid mlb players can’t learn how to hit. What’s next no bunting? No stealing bases? Not allowed to turn dp’s? Why don’t they just play hr derby all season! That’s right the mlb is trying to create more offense cause that’s what sell tickets! The lockout didn’t bother me but the rule changes from last year and the new ones this year are literally going to destroy the game.
What I don’t understand, or at least haven’t seen, is how they are going to enforce this? E.g. everyone on one side of diamond, ok clear violation. Is the line SS or 2B crossing over second base? How far will they push it? Will it be a balk type subjective call on the ump?
There were two proposals.
One required players to be on the infield dirt if they shift, and the other just requires two infielders on each side of the bag.
They adopted the latter version. No shifts.
And if they were truly “done with baseball”, would we hear about it here and now?
I think a lot of people are done with paying to watch, but I’m just guessing.
I’m done with baseball. Happy?
If you listen closely, you can hear Tom Ricketts rehearsing a new phrase to replace “biblical losses” when he cries poor to the Chicago media after the CBA is ratified.
75 wins here we come!
You’re more than willing to take on the financial responsibility of a MLB team. Do it, go buy one!
We should band together and send cases of Monster Energy Drink to the MLBtraderumors staff, Life for them is about to get real busy.
Are u kidding? We’re about to enter the most active 3 weeks of Hot Stove rumors and trades this year? No rest for the weary.
Approved by the MLBPA 26-12??? How is that possible?
those 12 dissenting votes probably have Boras as their agent.
The union gets a vote, they voted no. Each team had one vote.
Eight members on the Union Exec committee.
Buckle your seat belts, the Hot Stove is going to be turned up tonight! Can finally see the end of my FA predictions lol.
Do they announce a breakdown of who voted yes/no? Be interesting to see that.
Per Heyman: “Union executive board vote was 8-0 against the MLB proposal but teams voted 26-4 in favor of it, carrying the day, Unusual that the general player population goes so far against player leadership.”
And the 4 dissenting teams for anyone that hasn’t seen them: NYM, NYY, HOU, STL
The executive board has different priorities. Most of the players just want to play. Some of the executive board just want to make a name for themselves.
When your rank & file are that diametrically opposed to their executive board, the board needs to re-sign.
I think the exec board was more invested, and still thought they could get a better deal. Also, if the players later say they don’t like the deal, the board can say that they “told you so”.
@Joe *resign
fsd;lfsdklfklfsdjklfsd;jkl
I wrote something the other day about how it annoyed me when people confuse the two. Now I’m doing it. FJB!
I feel your pain – I know that pain. 🙂
Ratification of the contract takes effect at 6pm EST tonight. Free agency stats then.
I still think Freeman to 1-Padres or 2-Dodgers. (I know the Dodgers are obvious.) I really think the Padres are gonna finagle something to get him.
The hot stove is about to explode.
SWEET FANCY MOSES!
Well, this sucks… I was looking forward to watching The Sandlot and Little Big League for the 50th time this year…
It’s finally over. Soler can come back to the Braves now with the Universal DH.
Finally, answers to plenty of offseason questions: Where does Freeman, Correa, Story, Kershaw, amongst others sign? What does OAK & CIN do with their SP depth? How many games does Bauer get suspended, if any? Baseball is back!
I’ve been through a few of these work stoppages myself and I didn’t find this one to be particularly bad. I thought we might end up missing a couple weeks of games but I figured they’d get it done. I frankly found the give and take between the two sides to be interesting. But I sure am glad the season’s back on!
Jeff Passan is a hack.
YAY! YAY! YAY! Nuff said
Let’s go Brandon… Crawford!
Ready for the Mother of All Storms of FA signings and trades!
DRAT! And I was looking forward to watching Ken Burns’ Baseball on MLB network again.
Literally cannot WAIT until the signings commence tonight! I wasn’t pissing and moaning during the lockout but I was for real getting impatient, so I am ready for business as usual. Only this time of year you usually already have about 90-95% of the tier 1 FA’s signed. So this is going to be a crazy transaction dash and I just hope the Tigers have a plan in place to grab a SP and maybe an OF before the well dries up and their all gone. Buckle up baby!
WHOOPEE !!
My own personal LOCKOUT against the players and owners of MLB will continue.
Will attend ZERO GAMES.
Will purchase ZERO concessions.
Will purchase ZERO merchandise.
Will watch ZERO games on TV.
Will listen to ZERO games on radio,
There is much more to life than MLB and professional sports.
Let’s show these idiots that “We the people” HOLD THE REAL POWER !!!
How about you boycott MLBTR while you’re at it?
Thanks
I’m curious, how much spending did you do last year?
And ps, you have no power. No one will care.
Love people who talk about their personal protest and still support, read and comment on MLB sites. The fact that you’re here shows you’re not going anywhere. They make money on you every time you open this app. You realize that right?
Finally. It only took the threat of postponing the season by two weeks to get a deal done.
Notable advancement of the competitive balance tax was vital? Not hardly. The owners And fans lost hands down. A chance to slow down runaway salaries, escalating ticket prices, and financial imbalance, gone.
Boycotts rarely do anything but assuage the boycotters’ need for attention
Glad to see this. I need something to do this summer. LOL. That said, I doubt they play 162, and expect hamstring and other injuries early on because 30 days is pushing it. Practice running and game day running are night and day. I like the changes, and hated a man on second concept, but a Universal DH makes things interesting. No more loading the basis to get to a pitcher or seeing them do a Wainwright trying to run to first base. Play Ball!!!
BREAKING: Dodgers sign all remaining free agents worth having.
News flash: nobody cares. Get in line behind cornhole, MLB.
Thank you Commissioner Manfred for ending the lockout and bringing back the game we all love, all your hard work and dedication is appreciated it. Thanks again to the best Commisioner in sports today.
The sport is dying under his watch. But you can believe he is doing a good job if you want.
Might be the worst commissioner in sports history.
Except for every NHL president before Bettman, of course.
What sport is this?
Does anyone else find it weird that both the MLB and MLBPA could not come to any agreement for weeks and suddenly after Manfred signs two big media deals the lockout is over?
Yes. Trade rumors. I missed the trade rumors, even if most are not true.
Baseball is the only sport in which the off-season is 10 times more exciting than the games themselves. Can’t wait until the real season begins in the winter!
Thank God for the young generational MLB players who overall saved this season and an entire 162 game schedule today..The 8 members of the Executive Council for the Union, all seasoned MLB veterans, all voted against MLB proposal, but when it went to all the other teams and their player reps, it was a resounding 26-4 vote..These younger ballplayers saved the game’s future and the game’s reputation today!!!
Now I can finally see a signing that isn’t a minor leaguer I’ve never heard of!!!!! Seems like both sides kind of met in the middle on this one.
How many boastful loud mouth fans will renew all their canceled subscriptions tonight? …All of them.
Maybe. The fans union sticking point was getting 162 games. We won this time and will renew now with that victory under our belt.
Seriously? What is this WE won stuff? We didn’t win anything but immediate higher prices to pay. Fans have been and always will be in a lose-lose situation when it comes to pro sports labor negotiations. Fans are always taken for granted. WE pay the bills, not the owners. Costs go up no matter what, but now that WE won, our expenses are going up exponentially. Congrats on winning our battle.
Market forces at work: Enough people pay top dollar that those who don’t/can’t anymore aren’t factored in.
I’m a baseball fan who rarely gets to games. Still lots of opportunity …regular season games against non-rival opponents are often available at significant discounts …if you ask. 😉
I give you a thumbs up, my friend. I haven’t been to a game since 1994, so I will keep my honor and continue the boycott I swore to a long time ago.
I guess I should have posted comments towards “privileged fans” opposed to the average fans. Either way, I feel like we continue to lose.
Has anyone seen what the CBT penalties will be?
I hope they all get a good nights rest tonight! So that they can start up on the 2027 CBA tomorrow.
Maybe I’ll be dead by then.
Appreciate the nice words at the end thank you for being here through the tough times like covid and this lock out I know it’s not easy but I look forward every day multiple times a day to reading
Excellent, concise post Steve. The next 4 weeks will probably be the busiest ever for the MLBTR writing team!
Advertising patches on the uniform is trash. Look like a bunch of ballerina ball players and euro trash.
We’re back gentlemen… We’re back. Let’s go Blue Jays let’s go (clap, clap) Let’s go Blue Jays let’s go (clap, clap) Let’s go Blue Jays let’s go(clap, clap).
You guys still not going to watch?
Twelve hours later, where are all the deals?
So, Idiocracy and BASEketball are documentaries?
Steve Phillips, Lead Off Spot just said the players and owners now have some mending to do with the fans. He’s absolutely right.
Each PLAYER (on opening day roster) on all 30 teams and all 30 OWNERS should provide free game day tickets for the entire 2022 season. That’s 2700 tickets from players (100 tickets from each player) and 100 tickets from the owner.
And if Commissioner Manfred wants to make the same commitment to the fans. That will show MLB, MLBPA and Commissioner’s Office truly and sincerely want to make it up with the fans.
edwolves3
Steve Phillips, Lead Off Spot just said the players and owners now have some mending to do with the fans.
====================================
The season starts one week later, and ends three days late. We still get 162 games. What do they need to make amends for? Since the RS/NYY is now the opening game, that works out better for me.
They have nothing to mend for me.
No signings yet. Everyone was apparently out celebrating last night.
Each stadium should have a designated “Fan Area” for those getting the tickets.
And, each player (either before or after each game) go to the “Fan Area” and sign autographs or give signed game balls.
Have every stadium on “Jackie Robinson Day” provide free admission to every fan. Give every fan a free commemorative “Jackie Robinson Day” tee shirt when they enter the stadium. And have every fan wear the tee shirts during the game.
Why Free?
Why hasn’t anyone signed yet?
Because the deal is young people friendly not old people. Don’t be surprised that a lot of players are shut out and have to go to Japan or Korea to play.
Now with an agreement in place….Let’s see what happens. The owners told the players sub committee that what they wanted would cause a lot of veteran players to be pushed out of the league and they did not seem to care. They wanted the young players to cash out. It has been going in that direction for years now and it’s because the players representation have been very greedy. Thank goodness the MLB has been able to force some changes that will improve the game in the course of this lock out.
Can’t believe they approved ads on uniforms. Disappointed.
The NBA has them. After a while, it is easy to overlook them. Still, it seems kind of tacky, but a buck is a buck!
“The league also succeeded in its desire to add advertising patches to player uniforms”
tacky — I think I will deliberately avoid patronizing any sponsor whose “patch” I notice
I can’t believe this hasn’t been mentioned more. I think it’s awful. I remember the absolute uproar over the Nike checks being on unis, particularly NYY. Is everyone just desensitized at this point?
IMO, it isn’t desensitized as much as it isn’t a big deal. I’ve never really noticed the Nike swoosh. I don’t know, for example, if the players’ cleats carry a brand name. If the is a 9 sq in advertisement, maybe it will look trashy, but if it’s a 1″ x 2″ patch on his should, I likely won’t even notice it was there.
So now baseball uni’s will resemble NASCAR uni’s…great!
What about that fourth years of arbitration? Is that still here to stay?
Does playoff expansion mean baseball until November?
So….did they agree to adopt the DH in the NL?