MLB, MLBPA appear to make headway, will meet again Tuesday

MLB and the MLBPA had another meeting today as they try to work towards a resolution to the current lockout. Apparently there was enough headway made for the parties to be meeting again tomorrow.

Reports indicate that the MLBPA has backed off its request to have players be eligible, in some circumstances, for free agency in less than six years, and have softened their stance in regards to revenue sharing. Those are two major issues of contention, and it appears that the union is prepared to concede on those issues in order to dig in on getting improved compensation for pre-free agency players.

What that improved compensation might look like is not clear, though it would presumably mean changes to the arbitration system and a higher minimum salary. I suspect that the players would want to address the process by which players can seek redress if they contend a team is leaving the player in the minor leagues for service time manipulation purposes.

Based on previous reports, it seems likely that there will be some sort of draft lottery in place for the bottom teams in the league, in order to reduce the incentive for tanking, as well as expanded playoffs (the league has previously proposed a 14 team playoff, reportedly, while the players have said 12 teams).

A universal DH will almost certainly also be agreed to, though whether that is implemented in 2022 or in 2023 remains to be seen.

This is probably the first promising news that we have had in regards to the possibility of a deal being done to allow spring training to open on time. The players have made some significant concessions — we will see tomorrow whether the owners are serious about getting deal done sooner rather than later.