MLB, MLBPA Lead Negotiators Reportedly to Meet After Cancellation of Opening Week

The meeting room is where Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association meet.

According to Jeff Passan, the league's Dan Halem and the union's Bruce Meyer will meet one-on-one in New York. Up to this point, Halem and Meyer have been the lead negotiators.

The first meeting since the league decided to cancel the first week of games will be held on Thursday.

The first two series of the regular season will not be played because of the calendar, according to the commissioner.

He said that the failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort by either party.

The league waited 43 days to make its first offer after the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

The deadline was 5 p.m. It made its final offer shortly before the deadline, so it was able to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Evan Drellich of The Athletic shared the details, which included no changes to the competitive balance tax and slight increases to minimum salaries.

Evan Drellich @EvanDrellich

MLB’s best, final offer before pulling down games, per MLBPA official: <br>• Pre-arb bonus pool of $30 million, up $5 million from before<br>• No change on CBT thresholds (220/220/220/224/230)<br>• Minimum salary starting at $700k, going to $740k over course of deal. PA starts $725k

Many people reacted to how the process played out after the players rejected the offer.

Mike Trout @MikeTrout

Regarding The MLB Lockout: pic.twitter.com/QQUC1pWr5F

Kevin Pillar @KPILLAR4

Wish MLB would use some of their PR tactics to promote the stars in our game! pic.twitter.com/Iktd7PqReh

Marcus Stroman @STR0

Manclown. https://t.co/EbnJx48LZl

Anthony Rizzo @ARizzo44

To the fans we will miss you most. To the younger generation of baseball players, this is for you.

The first two series of the season were canceled for each team, but they will need to reach an agreement in the near future if they want to prevent more. There are still a number of unsigned free agents who will eventually join teams, and players will need some time to ramp up during a spring training.

Even if the meeting is informal, it's notable it's happening on Thursday since Manfred previously told reporters there would be no agreement until at least Thursday.

This year will be the first time since 1995 that the start of a MLB season will be delayed due to a work stoppage.