MLB Lockout, Day 91: CBT gap seen as big reason deal not reached

There are multiple reasons for MLB and the MLBPA failing to reach a new CBA, resulting in the first lost regular-season games in 27 years, but Competitive Balance Tax is the "primary cause of death" for this round of talks, according to Tom Verducci of SI.com. The two sides were "not close in math or concept." The players midday yesterday "presented a package that asked for a threshold that started" at $238M and topped out at $263M over five years, "slightly down from their range" of $245-273M. The first-year threshold in the new proposal "represented a 13% raise." However, owners saw the players’ incremental move as a "poke in the eye." They came back with a "final offer in which their CBT first threshold did not change," remaining at $220M. That was the "moment the season as we knew it was lost." A source said that the owners are “now attempting to use CBT as a salary cap" ( SI.com, 3/1 ). MLB Network’s Jon Morosi noted “there are a lot of wins for the players already in this agreement, but it does appear that they are very concerned about what that CBT number is" ( “MLB Tonight,” MLB Network, 3/1 ).

OFFER MADE TO BE REJECTED: In N.Y., Tyler Kepner notes MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners had to know their final offer “was dead on arrival." The "insistence on bumping up the luxury tax threshold" by only $10M to $220M, and "keeping it at that level for three years, said it all." Opposition to a salary cap is the "first commandment for all true believers in the players’ orthodoxy." The offer was "engineered to be rejected by the union" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/2). MLB Network’s Jon Heyman said once the CBT figures “got out, there was a very negative reaction from some agents.” Heyman: "At that point, the negotiators may not have been quite so gung-ho about moving forward or moving the numbers down a bit further" ( "Hot Stove," MLB Network, 3/2).

STATUS OF OTHER ISSUES: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes the two sides "managed to agree on a 12-team postseason, along with a universal DH," and were "just $25,000 apart on a minimum salary ($725,000 to $700,000) in 2022." Yet, they "never came particularly close to solving the other major economic issues." There is still a $55M "gap on a pre-arbitration bonus pool" ($85M to $30M)" (USA TODAY, 3/2). In Boston, Michael Silverman notes MLB has gone up to $25M for its "pre-arbitration bonus pool offer with no growth over the course of the five-year CBA," while the union yesterday dropped to $85M with $5M increases each year. On the matter of expanded playoffs, the players "made it clear and may have swayed the owners that they will not budge" on expanding the playoffs to 14 teams, "vastly preferring only 12 teams in part because their proposed format rewards division winners more" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/2). SI.com’s Verducci wrote the "shame is that owners did address criteria important to players," such as "getting more money to young players” (SI.com, 3/1).

NO CREDIT HERE: In Philadelphia, Scott Lauber writes Manfred "sought a procedural change that would empower him to implement a pitch clock, eliminate shifts, and make other adjustments to improve the on-field product." It was a "worthwhile endeavor," but in December he said that "sorely needed on-field changes would wait until after the thorny economic issues were hashed out" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3//2).