Report: MLB Takes 'More Threatening Tone' With Players, Willing To Miss Full Month Of Games
BOSTON (CBS) -- If you were hoping that MLB and the players' union would find some common ground and reach an agreement by Monday's deadline ... some bad news came in on Monday afternoon.
The Athletic's Evan Drellich provided a preliminary update on talks from Monday, noting that the owners took a "more threatening tone" in their talks with the MLBPA while expressing a willingness to miss a full month of regular-season games.
MLB today indicated a willingness to miss a month of games and took a more threatening tone than yesterday, sources briefed on the day's first meeting between MLB and the Players Association tell me, @Ken_Rosenthal and @FabianArdaya. Full context of conversation not yet known.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 28, 2022
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported similarly, noting that "the rhetoric is ratcheting up" and that the players' side felt threatened by ownership's course on monday.
The rhetoric is ratcheting up. As @EvanDrellich said, MLB suggested in the first meeting with the MLBPA today that the league is willing to cancel a month's worth of games. What that means, or whether it's simply a threat, is unclear, but players have taken it as a clear threat.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 28, 2022
Monday is the owners-imposed deadline for reaching an agreement before regular-season games will start to get canceled. Spring training games have already been canceled through March 7, and with Opening Day scheduled for March 31 around the league, the owners contend that there won't be enough time for teams to prepare for the season in time if a deal isn't struck by Monday.
Based on the early word out of Florida, it doesn't seem as though an agreement is anywhere close to happening.