The Major League Baseball Players Association plans to make an in-person labor proposal to the league on Monday, according to sources, countering MLB's offer last week that did little to loosen the gridlock that has gripped the sport after the league locked out the players.
The scheduled start to spring training in mid-February will grow much more unlikelier if the players' offer does little to advance the negotiations that thus far haven't yielded any substantive progress. The longer discussions on a new collective-bargaining agreement last, the more they endanger opening day.
The players' union is seeking major financial gains in a number of areas and owners are trying to hold firm with what they currently pay in salaries. Anti-tanking measures and fixing service-time manipulation are some of the issues that remain a priority.
The players' offer could provide a road map to the negotiations. The union was asked by the league to drop three areas of discussion, including earlier free agency for players, salary arbitration after two years, and changes to the revenue-sharing plan. The league locked out the players after the union did not agree to the condition.
The league returned to the union with an offer that included paying players with two to three years of service based on a formula, slight modifications to the draft lottery it previously had proposed and a mechanism that would reward teams with draft picks when top prospects start.
After losing financial ground during the previous labor agreement, players want to make gains this time around.
The Associated Press reported on the expected counterproposal from the MLBPA.
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