Report: MLB, MLBPA to meet Thursday for first time since lockout began

It's been 40 days since Major League Baseball instituted a lockout. While free-agent signings and trades have been forced to come to a halt, there has still been some action around the league.

The New York Mets have been perhaps the most busy team in baseball, hiring Buck Showalter as their next manager, snagging former six-time Gold Glove award winner Eric Chavez away from the New York Yankees to be their next hitting coach and hearing that former acting general manager Zack Scott was found not guilty on multiple DWI charges.

It was reported last week that the Oakland Athletics were "expected" to bring in a new bench coach, and on Sunday, Rachel Balkovec made baseball history.

Still, the fans have been left waiting over the last month-plus to see if there were any hopes of baseball returning this spring. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Tuesday morning that the first step in a potential end to the lockout will occur on Thursday.