10:50 PM
Sources familiar with the talks say that a day of negotiations brought Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association no closer to a new collective bargaining agreement.
The sides met in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday, one day before the current agreement is set to expire. Wednesday.
The core economic issues are still the main roadblock to a new deal. The players want free agency after five years or 29.5 years of age, whichever comes first, and then the process of negotiating a new contract after two seasons.
A person familiar with the league's thinking says that owners won't agree to a massive change of the system. The economic process in baseball has been based on free agency after six years and the use of a third-party administrator after three seasons.
Allowing advertising patches on jerseys and a 12-team playoffs were some of the revenue-generating ideas added to the players' offer on Tuesday. They wanted the tax threshold to be raised to $240 million. It was $210 million last season.
Each league was offered two divisions, one with eight teams and one with seven, to accommodate the playoffs.
The league didn't notice any of the changes to free agency, revenue sharing, and the like.
The league added an NBA-style draft lottery to its proposal last week. The league agreed to free agency for all players over the age of 25. It also offered to eliminate the need for players to go through the process of getting a salary, using a formula called FWAR.
The owners are likely to lock out the players at midnight on Wednesday. The league insists that it's the best way to instill a sense of urgency in the process, as the sides can keep negotiating under the old rules, if they desire. The owners don't want the process to be viewed as punishment.
The players won't lose their paychecks until the start of the regular season, so they might view the labor dispute as less risky than a work stoppage. There will be no contact between teams and free agents if there is a stop to the season. Team personnel are not allowed to speak publicly about players on the field or in any other way.
The sides will meet again on Wednesday, less than 24 hours before the oldCBA expires.
