MLB to cancel another week of games if deal not reached by Tuesday night

If the league can't agree to a new collective-bargaining agreement with the players by Tuesday night, there will be another week of regular-season games canceled.

The league suggested Tuesday was the deadline for a 162-game season and the players to receive full pay and full service time, as the need to strike a labor deal increased. Even though MLB canceled the first week of the season, the union has not budged and they have threatened to not expand the playoffs if they don't get 162 games of pay and service time.

If MLB cancels another bunch of games, the complicated labor talks could run into an obstacle and cause pay and service to become another potentially problematic divide.

The league reduced the chasm on the competitive-balance tax in a proposal Monday. Sources said that the first CBT threshold was raised from $220 million to $228 million, but still shy of the union's request of $238 million. One of the sticking points for players was the growth of the proposal to $238 million in the fifth year of a potential deal.

MLB tying Tuesday to full pay and service, which was first reported by The Athletic, adds pressure to talks. While terms of any collective-bargaining agreement can be negotiated, the threat of removing full pay and service from future proposals -- as well as the potential rejoinder of expanding the playoffs from 10 to 12 or 14 teams -- adds gravity to Tuesday's talks. If a deal isn't struck Tuesday, it will be more difficult to reach one in the future.

It was suggested that the cancellation of games meant no making them up and no recouping lost pay and service. If a deal is reached Tuesday, players can be in spring-training camps by Friday and lost games could be made up on off-days and with doubleheaders, according to MLB.

The seriousness of the discussions was reflected by the private nature of Monday's talks and the desire of both sides to keep their proposals out of the public eye, sources said. There is enough separation to temper enthusiasm about a deal being reached Tuesday, sources said, for all the progress made in recent weeks on proposals such as minimum salary, expanded playoffs and the draft lottery.

The ability to bridge gaps in one day is something that could prove too great for a deal. The owners need 23 of 30 teams to sign off on a deal, and the players need to approve it.

The talks began nearly a year ago and have been defined by tension since the league locked out the players. The players rejected a proposal from the league that would have kept the CBT at $220 million for the first three seasons of the deal.

The first week of the season was canceled by the Commissioner after he took down spring-training games. The second week could be in jeopardy without a deal Tuesday, though the slow dance toward a compromise that would bring back baseball leaves a bit of hope in what has been a lost spring.