Manfred cancels first 2 regular-season series after players reject MLB's offer

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred canceled the regular season's first two series less than an hour after players rejected the league's final offer Tuesday.

"I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort by either party," the commissioner said at a press conference, according to James Wagner of the New York Times.

Manfred - who previously said missing games would be a "disastrous outcome" - added that the league doesn't plan to pay players for the canceled games.

In a statement, the MLBPA said that players "are disgusted, but sadly not surprised" by the league's decision.

"From the beginning of these negotiations, players' objectives have been consistent - to promote competition, provide fair compensation for young players, and to uphold the integrity of our market system," the MLBPA continued. "Against the backdrop of growing revenues and record profits, we are seeking nothing more than a fair agreement.

"What Rob Manfred characterized as a 'defensive lockout' is, in fact, the culmination of a decades-long attempt by owners to break our player fraternity. As in the past, this effort will fail."

The union said owners deemed Tuesday's proposal their "best and final" offer, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. However, Manfred denied using those terms.

"We never used the phrase 'last, best, final offer' with the union," the commissioner said, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic. "We said it was our best offer prior to the deadline to cancel games. Our negotiations are deadlocked right now ... but that’s different than using the legal term 'impasse,' and I'm not going to do that right now."

The league presented players its offer around 3 p.m. ET, two hours before its self-imposed deadline to save a 162-game season. The union's player leadership unanimously agreed to reject it, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Player reaction to the proposal was swift and harsh. One union leader called it "a slap in the face" and said owners seem to want players to lose money, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

MLB's offer included an increase in minimum salary, but no changes to the luxury-tax thresholds.

Other details included the adoption of the universal designated hitter, an expanded 12-team postseason, and a limit of five options to the minor leagues per season. Manfred added that an international draft was also part of the deal.

A deal appeared to be within sight when negotiations progressed late into the evening Monday, but optimism quickly vanished Tuesday once it was clear that the sides were much further apart than they thought.

After rejecting the offer, players began leaving Florida, where the sides had been negotiating for the past week. It's not clear when they'll begin talking again, though Manfred said the league is ready to return to the table.

"If it was solely within my ability or the ability of the clubs to get an agreement, we'd have an agreement," he said, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Enquirer. "The tough thing about this process is we have to get an agreement from both parties."