MLB cancels 2 more regular-season series
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancelation of two additional regular-season series after collective bargaining talks fell apart once again on Wednesday.
This is the second time the league has canceled games, with Manfred axing the first two regular-season series from the schedule last week.
Opening Day will not happen until April 14 at the earliest.
In response, the union called the cancelations "completely unnecessary," according to a statement obtained by The Boston Globe's Michael Silverman. The MLBPA also said it tabled a "comprehensive" proposal after the league said a "substantive" response would come. Instead of replying, the commissioner canceled games.
Despite both sides releasing statements, the groups are continuing conversations on Wednesday night. However, in-person negotiations are done for the day, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The owners reportedly presented the players' union with a trio of options regarding the introduction of an international draft. The union reportedly countered by offering a Nov. 15 deadline to agree on how an international draft would work. If the two sides didn't agree on a system, the union would reportedly consent to the league bringing back the qualifying offer, which has been treated as the corresponding bargaining chip.
Players made an offer late today: They’d spend the season working on a world draft and if it didn’t work out, qualifying offers/free agent comp would be re-installed at year’s end. This was Manfred’s idea Tuesday night but was rejected because it came after MLB’s 6 pm deadline.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 10, 2022
An international draft has been rumored to be on Manfred's to-do list for quite some time but has not been a talking point of collective bargaining discussions until recently. On Wednesday, Fernando Tatis Jr. and David Ortiz - both from the Dominican Republic - appealed to the league and union, warning that hastily implementing an international draft would be damaging to the sport.
Manfred announced the lockout in early December and MLB is now nearing its 100th day of the labor conflict.