MLB Rumors: CBA Deadline to Avoid Canceled Regular Season Games Extended amid Talks

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reportedly extended the deadline to avoid losing regular-season games in 2022, amid positive labor talks into the early morning hours of Tuesday.

The deadline to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement was extended by a day, according to Jeff Passan.

The new deadline is Tuesday at 5 p.m. Talks will resume Tuesday at 11 a.m. Time.

Passan said that there are still several sticking points that need to be worked out before a deal can be reached.

The minimum salary and bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, as well as the possibility of an international draft, are among them.

MLB wants to expand the playoffs from 10 to 14 teams, while the players want 12 teams, according to reports.

If the players accepted the 14-playoff-team proposal, MLB would give them a minimum salary of $700,000 and a bonus pool of 40 million dollars, but they wouldn't do it since they felt the teams with subpar records could affect their spending on players.

The players want a bonus pool of $115 million, a minimum salary of $775,000 and a competitive balance tax threshold of $245 million. MLB was unwilling to reach those numbers, but they got closer Monday.

Passan reported that MLB had a minimum salary of $675,000 and a bonus pool of $25 million.

The players were locked out by the MLB. The threat of a strike could have derailed the season if the two sides had not reached a collective bargaining agreement.

If you play without an agreement, you are vulnerable to a strike at any point in time, said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred at the time.

It is not a good thing for the sport. We understand that it is bad for the business.

On Monday, when reporters asked for an update on the progress of the talks between MLB and the MLBPA, he would only say they were working at it.

The 90-day mark is the second-longest work strike in MLB history. The last three times regular-season games were canceled in Major League Baseball due to a labor dispute was in 2011.

The cancellation of spring training games through March 7 has been avoided by the MLB and the MLBPA.

If no agreement is reached on Tuesday, there is at least hope for a truncated season.