Is MLB Opening Day canceled? Rob Manfred says start of season delayed amid CBA lockout

Edward Sutelan

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Is MLB Opening Day canceled? Rob Manfred says start of season delayed amid CBA lockout image

The passing of the Super Bowl has, in the past, has helped usher in the arrival of the MLB season. An unofficial handoff from taking off the shoulder pads to putting on ball caps, pitchers and catchers report in February just as the final two NFL teams are ending their campaigns.

That has not been the case in 2022. Spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida remain empty and player profiles on the league's website continue to be blank heads as owners and player association reps remain dug in during what commissioner Rob Manfred calls "a defensive lockout." 

The lockout that started Dec. 2 remains in place, and until it is over the start date for the MLB season will remain up in the air.

Sporting News is tracking the latest news on the lockout that is keeping MLB players off the field in 2022.

MLB lockout news and updates

March 6: The players offer a new deal to the league, this time offering to implement a pitch clock, banning shifts and also wanting no robo-umpires for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The league says that the deal was a "step back" — so, no deal, and the two sides will continue to talk. Hopefully.

March 1: Manfred pens a letter to baseball fans, claiming the league did their best to try and avoid canceling games.

March 1, 5:13 p.m. ET: During his press conference, commissioner Rob Manfred said he is canceling the first two series of the regular season. He also said that since MLBPA is headed back to New York, the two sides will not be able to reach an agreement until at least Thursday. He said the games will not be made up and the players will not be paid for those canceled games.

Manfred also said the offer that was on the table was not the "last, best and final offer," and that it was just the best offer the league would propose before the deadline. Manfred had said that the CBT increases proposed by MLB were in line with previous agreements, and he felt the rest of the offer had major benefits for the fans and players.

He also said the league has faced difficult financial times over the past five years, citing the pandemic as part of the reason for the economic difficulty. As reporters quickly pointed out, MLB made a record $11 billion in revenue in 2019.

Manfred was asked about why MLB locked out the players and then waited 43 days before returning to the bargaining table. He said the reason was the last 10 days, where they had deep negotiations.

Not long after Manfred's press conference, MLBPA issued the following statement:

March 1, 4:16 p.m. ET: MLB made its final counteroffer to the MLBPA before its self-imposed 5 p.m. ET deadline, and it wasn't promising. 

By comparison, the MLBPA most recently called for CBT thresholds of $238 million in 2022, $244 million in 2023, $250 million in 2024, $256 million in 2025 and $263 million in 2026, meaning MLB's offer for the final year would not even meet the first year in the player's proposal. The difference in the pre-arbitration pool between the two sides is $30 million by MLB compared to $85 million by MLBPA, a gap of $55 million.

Unsurprisingly, this has led to the MLBPA reps unanimously rejecting the offer, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

An MLB official had told The Athletic's Evan Drellich that the two sides felt close Monday night but the MLBPA took a different tone Tuesday. Union officials responded that they have been consistent throughout and that the two sides have remained far apart on important details.

Giants left-hander Alex Wood agreed with that sentiment:

March 1, 7:14 a.m. ET: USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale reports that the 5 p.m. ET deadline to agree to a new CBA is a hard deadline. If the two sides do not strike a new deal before then, MLB will cancel regular-season games.

March 1, 2:35 a.m. ET: MLB and the MLBPA concluded 16 hours of meetings without a deal. However, the two sides agreed to extend the soft "deadline" of Feb. 28 to March 1 at 5 p.m. ET, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. They will return to the negotiation table Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET in the hopes of agreeing to a new CBA.

"We made progress," a league spokesman said. "We want to exhaust every possibility to get a deal done."

Feb. 28, 11:45 p.m. ET: 11 meetings later, there may be some progress... 

Feb. 28, 9 p.m. ET: "Not close, but not impossible..." 

Drellich added more context Monday night with a proposal on playoff expansion. 

Feb. 28: MLB sounds like it is willing to wait out the MLBPA for quite a while.

According to The Athletic's Evan Drellich, MLB indicated to the players during Monday's first meeting between the sides that it could be willing to lose a month of games.

As a reminder, MLB is the only party that has currently suggested Feb. 28 is the final day to complete a deal in order to start the regular season on time. In order for the season to be shortened, both the MLBPA and MLB would have to agree to the reduced number of games.

Feb. 27: With MLB's deadline to start the season on time a day away, the sides appear no closer to agreement.

According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, meetings on Sunday left with the MLBPA still feeling like it was far apart from the league. A league source told ESPN that the day was "productive," but said there weren't any proposals exchanged. Instead, the day was comprised more of smaller group talks.

Per ESPN's report, MLB and the MLBPA are apart on: minimum salaries, competitive balance tax, Super 2 expansion, revenue sharing, expanding the postseason and pre-arbitration bonus pool.

The Athletic's Evan Drellich reported that MLB wants to package the elimination of qualifying offers with increased competitive balance taxes, but still offered only a marginal increase. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal said the MLBPA remains concerned about playoff expansion and suggested instead an idea of a ghost win where a division champion needs to win two games in a best-of-three, while non-division winner would need to sweep.

Earlier in the day, Audacy Sports and MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported on Sunday that there was some optimism that the two sides could reach a deal by Monday. He said there is a belief that the collective bargaining tax threshold could be agreed around $225 or $230 million.

However, reliever Zack Britton, who has been heavily involved in the negotiations, disputed his report.

Feb. 26: A sixth consecutive day of negotiations produced some progress but also a lot of anger. The main source of discord between the sides was the competitive balance tax. Owners barely moved off their previous position; they offered small reductions in penalty rates and a $1 million increase in the 2023 tax threshold, to $215 million. The players want the thresholds to start at $245 million and increase to $273 million by the end of the CBA. They also want to get rid of non-financial penalties for going past the threshold, the Associated Press reported.

The AP also reported that there was agreement in other areas of the negotiations. Owners agreed to credit players with a full year of service time if they finish first or second in Rookie of the Year voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, provided the players are ranked among the top 100 prospects and don't spend the entire season on a major league roster.

The sides also agreed that the order of the first six selections in the MLB Draft will be determined by a lottery.

Players made a substantial move toward the owners on salary arbitration. They lowered their proposed percentage of so-called "Super Two" players (more than two years of service time but less than three years) down to 35 percent, from 75 percent, MLB wants to keep the current 22 percent.

The sides have scheduled another meeting for 1 p.m. ET Sunday. 

Feb. 25: MLB announced that exhibition games would now begin no earlier than March 8. The league had previously delayed their start until March 5.

Commissioner Rob Manfred joined the negotiations for the first time. He spoke one-on-one with MLBPA executive director Tony Clark.

Sources told Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that players accepted a proposed framework for a draft lottery but that details were still being worked out. The sides exchanged proposals on Friday, Drellich reported.

Drellich also reported that MLB had proposed linking the lottery to expanding the playoffs to 14 teams but players were not receptive to that exchange. Players reportedly are amenable to expanding the playoffs to 12 teams from 10, which would result in more revenue for the owners.

Feb. 24: MLB and the MLBPA met for a fourth consecutive day in Jupiter, Fla. They discussed a draft lottery and service time manipulation, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. MLB wants only the top four picks to be subject to a lottery while the MLBPA wants it to be the top seven picks, down from its previous proposal of eight picks. The players association had also previously asked that small-market clubs be penalized for finishing in the lottery in back-to-back seasons; its latest proposal called for smaller penalties.

The union wants rookies to be rewarded with a full year of service time — quickening their pace toward arbitration and free agency — based on voting for awards such as Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young, and/or wins above replacement compared to others in their position group.

Per MLB's report, the WAR leaderboards would be the top five for catchers, infielders or designated hitters, or the top 15 for outfielders and pitchers, a step back from seven and 20, respectively, in its previous proposal.

Feb. 23: MLB stated its deadline for negotiations to conclude so the regular season could begin on time: Feb. 28.

"The deadline is the deadline," a league spokesman told MLB.com. "After Feb. 28, games will be canceled. Missed games are missed games and salary will not be paid for those games."

According to the MLB.com report, MLB proposed raising the minimum salary to $640,000, an increase of $69,500 from the 2021 minimum. The minimum would increase by $10,000 in each of the next four seasons. This came after the MLBPA had proposed a minimum salary of $775,000 with raises of $30,000 each year.

"This was an attempt to respond positively to a series of proposals by the MLBPA that have gone backwards," the spokesman told MLB.com. "We have five days to reach an agreement, so there is still time for a breakthrough. We are here to get a deal done — but they are going to have to start moving towards us rather than away from us to get this done."

The MLBPA has also reportedly remained steadfast in its proposal for a $245 million competitive balance tax. That number has remained the same since initial discussions back in November, per MLB.com, while MLB has its latest figure at $214 million. The number would increase to $222 million by 2026, and teams with more than $234 million would have a draft pick removed.

Feb. 18: The inevitable happened: MLB announced spring training games had been postponed. According to MLB.com, the league said that games would start no earlier than March 5.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported that the MLBPA is now looking to increase the number of players eligible for so-called "Super Two" arbitration eligibility to the top 80 percent of players with between two and three years of service time, an almost fourfold increase from the current 22 percent but down from all players with two-plus years. One year of service time equals 172 days on the active 26-man roster or the injured list. Feinsand reported that the league is not considering expanding Super Two eligibility.

The other topic discussed was a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. The gap between the two sides, per MLB.com, was $100 million — the MLBPA proposed $115 million be awarded to the top 150 pre-arb players, while MLB proposed $15 million for 30 players. (MLB raised its figure to $20 million on Feb. 21.) 

Feb. 12: MLB mentioned for the first time that there would be a deadline to have a deal in place for the regular season to start on time. MLB's Mark Feinsand reported Feb. 23 that MLB told the union that Feb. 28 was the deadline.

Feb. 10: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that MLB had "agreed" to a universal designated hitter (meaning the NL would use the DH), a draft lottery and the elimination of draft-pick compensation for free agents who sign with other teams after receive qualifying offers. The format of the lottery was not announced; Manfred's statement was just a signal that the lottery would be instituted.

Feb. 3: MLB requested a federal mediator be brought in to help the sides reach an agreement. The MLBPA declined the proposal the next day. According to Feinsand, MLB felt that a neutral party would help expedite the negotiating process and avoid a delay to the season; the MLBPA felt that the two sides just needed to come to the table to negotiate.

Jan. 24: The league and union met in person for the first time since Dec. 20, with MLB reportedly proposing pay increases to the players with more than two years of service time, as well as changes in the draft process and possible expansion of the designated hitter to the National League.

Jan. 13: The two sides had a discussion over Zoom, just their second meeting since the lockout. According to ESPN, the league's proposal for how to pay players with between two and three years of service time was not met favorably by the players.

Dec. 20: The players and MLB met for the first time since the team owners locked out the players. ESPN reported that no major discussions took place.

When does the MLB season start in 2022?

  • Opening Day: March 31, 2022

The first games of the 2022 MLB regular season schedule are currently set for March 31. Spring training games are set to begin no earlier than March 5.

MLB said that a deal must be reached by Feb. 28 for the regular season to begin on time. It seems all but certain at this point that spring training games, if there are any, will be delayed.

Why is MLB in a lockout?

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association operate under a collective bargaining agreement that, in the past, has lasted five years.

The most recent CBA expired Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Since then, the two sides have been going back and forth with proposals and counterproposals as they attempt to strike a new multiyear deal.

The owners locked out the players when the previous CBA expired, meaning teams can have no interactions with players. There will be no free-agent signings, no team workouts and no media sessions with players. The player profile images on team websites have been scrubbed — as have all mentions of the players — and team social media accounts and websites will not discuss active players.

MLB and team owners locked out the players to try to force an agreement before the season starts. Any games missed would be early in the year.

For comparison, in 1993 the CBA expired on Dec. 31. There was no lockout at that time. Instead, the season was played until the players went on strike Aug. 12, 1994. MLB eventually canceled the playoffs and World Series that year. An agreement was finally reached in March 1995 after U.S. District Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor ruled that MLB could not employ non-union replacement players. The season began in the final week of April.

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Edward Sutelan

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Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.