Tuesday evening lockout update: A New Hope

Tuesday evening. Could it be that the season will be saved?

The reports from the national guys tonight are saying that the latest offer from the league to the player, presented this afternoon, shows significant movement compared to where the league has been. The Competitive Balance Tax threshold would start at $230M, moving up to $242M by the end of the deal. Minimum salary would begin at $700,000 and move up to $770,000 by the end of the deal. The pre-arbitration bonus pool would be $40M.

There are some other details being discussed, such as the league wanting to get an international draft in exchange for eliminating the qualifying offer. The league also wants to add a fourth tier with an even higher surcharge for teams that greatly exceed the CBT, which is apparently a concern for the union — currently, there are three tiers with ever increasing penalties. That said, this appears to be directed primarily at new Mets owner Steve Cohen, and likely no team which reach that threshold regardless.

This isn’t a good deal for the players. The question, though, is how much better of a deal they would get later, and whether that would be the lost paychecks that would result.