MLB, Players' Association reach 5-year deal on new CBA
Major League Baseball and the Players' Association have reached an agreement on a tentative deal for a new CBA, the league announced Wednesday in a press release. The agreement is for five years and will run through the 2021 season.
Both sides had until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30 to negotiate a new deal.
"I want to thank the Players for working diligently for more than a year to negotiate an agreement that, when finalized, will benefit all involved in the game and leaves the game better for those who follow," MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said in a statement.
One of the most significant changes in the new CBA will be in regards to draft-pick compensation, as Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports teams will no longer have to surrender a first-round pick to sign free agents who had rejected qualifying offers from their previous team.
Instead, clubs above the new $195-million tax threshold will now have to surrender their second- and fifth-round picks, while teams below the limit will only forfeit a third-round pick.
Related: Report: Teams above tax threshold will lose 2nd, 5th-round picks as FA compensation
Current free agents, however, will remain subject to old CBA rules.
Talks between the two sides appeared to show significant progress Wednesday, with the luxury tax remaining the most notable obstacle. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that though the new tax will start at $195 million, it will reach between $210 million and $215 million over the five years of the deal.
Despite early talks of allowing teams to carry an extra player, the new CBA will not expand rosters to 26 players, though clubs will continue to be able to carry 40 players come September, according to Sherman.
An international draft, a debated talking point between owners and some of baseball's biggest Latin American stars, did not make it into the new CBA, though teams will only be allowed to spend between $5 million and $6 million per year on international signings, according to Heyman.