Could a CBA compromise be closer than it seems?

Amid all the doom-and-gloom surrounding the CBA negotiation, there is at least one voice suggesting a deal could be in the offing. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports Sunday morning that the two sides are “within striking distance” of a deal, and could reach a suitable compromise by Monday night.

Of course, most of the other scuttlebutt, including from Heyman, suggests that the players left yesterday’s session upset and unconvinced of the owners willingness to negotiate in earnest. At the same time, despite the hostility, players have not walked away yet, with another meeting scheduled between the two sides for Sunday at noon.

If Heyman’s source is on the money, the difference could be a settling of the luxury tax threshold around the $230M mark, notes Heyman. It’s not clear what that would mean for the remaining issues, as there are still a number of items for which the two sides seem at odds. The luxury tax mark has been a sticking point for owners, and it’s also an issue where we have seen some significant movement on the player side. At last reporting, the gap between the two was still at $31M for 2022, with the players offering a $245M luxury tax line and the owners countering at $214M. Evenly splitting that divide certainly makes sense, but that’s not the way negotiations have leaned thus far.