PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Major League Baseball and its players did not reach a new contract Monday. The clock is still ticking, but now there is a little more time to make sure the full season is played.
The new deadline to reach a deal that would allow baseball to start on time, without the loss of regular season games, is now 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to reports.
MLB and the players union went through more than 16 hours of negotiation at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, before agreeing around 2:30 a.m. to resume later on Tuesday. It is an encouraging sign, but there are still several important economic details to work out.
Related
ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan explained on ESPN's First Take what the players have been fighting for.
"Their pay has been cut on average for four consecutive years. Now their service time has been manipulated for a decade. Now they're looked at by owners frankly as pawns,” Passan said.
It is Day 90 of the MLB lockout, and Passan says that is on the owners, not the players.
"As profits in the game have risen, as revenues in the game have risen, as franchise values in the game have risen, player salaries have not — and owners like that. They look at that and say, ‘That's how the world should be. That's how you run a successful business, by paying your employees as little as possible.’”
Passan said the owners view the players as pawns.
"That's what this comes down to,” he said. “The players are the game, and I don't think the owners recognize that. And I don't know what the end game is here, but if it means we're losing opening day, the game is a whole lot worse off for it."
MLB Audacy Insider Jon Heyman tweeted overnight that the players union believes the owners want to do a deal now and not lose games.
Talks resumed at 11 a.m. If both sides agree to a new contract before 5 p.m., there will be a full 162 games, which is what fans want, according to a tweet from USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
As of now, Opening Day is scheduled for March 31 — if a new collective bargaining agreement is reached on time.
Related
