NEW YORK (KMOX/AP) - "We are getting down to crunch time here, and my belief is that if they don't have something today, they'll start cancelling more games," explains KMOX Sports Director Tom Ackerman. Negotiators for locked-out players and Major League Baseball are resuming talks, after a 16 1/2 hours of bargaining Tuesday.
The two sides met at each other's offices in New York Tuesday and then by phone, with MLB reportedly making moves toward players on key economic issues, including the luxury tax, the amount of a new bonus pool for pre-arbitration-eligible players and minimum salaries. The league also pushed for its long-held goal of an international amateur draft.
Ackerman says he's optimistic and explains why, "the fact that they're getting a little bit closer, that they continue to talk, and that some of these stories are starting to leak out about 'what would happen if...'"
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Commissioner Rob Manfred's deadline for preserving a 162-game season passed overnight, but so far no additional games have been canceled. While it appears there is no chance opening day could take place as originally schedule, MLB told the union that Tuesday was the last possible day to reach an agreement that would allow a modified 162-game schedule, along with full salary and service time needed to reach free agency for players.
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