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MLB, MLBPA fail to reach deal ahead of deadline to avoid game cancellations

By Adam Stites | Last updated Mar 1, 2022 4:56 PM ET

No deal was reached Tuesday on a new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, meaning it's likely that regular season games in the 2022 will be cancelled.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, MLBPA leaders unanimously agreed to not accept the MLB's final proposal ahead of the league's self-imposed deadline to play Opening Day as scheduled. One MLB player told Travis Sawchik of The Score that a deal was "never even close in the slightest."

The failure to reach an agreement comes after several reports in the last 24 hours that a deal was near after productive negotiations. San Francisco Giants pitcher Alex Wood tweeted Tuesday that those reports were nothing more than efforts by the league to control the narrative and shift blame.

FWIW MLB has pumped to the media last night & today that there’s momentum toward a deal. Now saying the players tone has changed. So if a deal isn’t done today it’s our fault. This isn’t a coincidence. We’ve had the same tone all along. We just want a fair deal/to play ball.
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) March 1, 2022

The last 24hrs I’d say there was cautious optimism on the players side because the owners were actually at the table negotiating with us toward a deal. What we’re asking is more than fair. If there’s no deal the optimism from MLB was a PR illusion to make it look like they tried.
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) March 1, 2022

Opening Day is currently scheduled for March 31 and the MLB previously set a Feb. 28 deadline for a CBA deal to be reached so four weeks of spring training could still happen. Late last night, the MLB pushed back the deadline to 5 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, citing the progress made in negotiations as the reason for the decision.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the two sides were still tens of millions apart on proposed luxury tax figures among other significant disagreements.

Adam Stites

Adam Stites is a Southern California native who lives in a new state every three months. He’s perennially disappointed by both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona State Sun Devils. His dog is named Ramsey after the best cornerback in the NFL

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