More games have fallen victim to the MLB lockout, which now means that the Philadelphia Phillies' season opener won't happen until April 14 at the earliest, with the home opener more than a week later.
The league on Wednesday reportedly announced that an additional week of games — roughly two series' worth — were off, through at least April 14.
The news came after owners and players failed to reach an agreement during the latest round of negotiations, which were said to have intensified throughout the week.
MLB had imposed yet another deadline for a deal on Monday that not only would have prevented more games from being canceled, but also to save the 162-game season. That deadline was missed, with negotiations spilling into Tuesday and Wednesday.
It was unclear, in the event a deal on a new CBA is eventually reached, whether the league planned to reschedule any of the lost games, or perhaps add on games elsewhere to make up as many as possible.
Nevertheless, the possibility of a full 162-game schedule seems to be off the table, as MLB would now have to make up two weeks, or four series, of games for a full season at this point.
Commissioner Rob Manfred previously announced the cancellation of the first week of games earlier this month.
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The competitive balance tax (CBT, or luxury tax) was reported to be a sticking point in the negotiations, as were an owner-proposed international amateur draft and the system of draft-pick compensation awarded to teams whose players leave in free agency, which players say has incentivized teams to avoid signing free agents.
All this means the Phillies' 2022 campaign is now scheduled to begin on April 14 at the Miami Marlins, with the home opener on Friday, April 22 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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