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The Major League Baseball Players Association on Friday declined to enter mediation to attempt to end the MLB lockout.

“Two months after implementing their lockout, and just two days after committing to Players that a counterproposal would be made, the owners refused to make a counter, and instead requested mediation,” an MLBPA statement said.

“After consultation with our Executive Board, and taking into account a variety of factors, we have declined this request.

“The clearest path to a fair and timely agreement is to get back to the table. Players stand ready to negotiate.”

Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/KBssy2e66U

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) February 4, 2022

The owners and players have met four times since the lockout began Dec. 2. Reports said the two sides had a “heated” 90-minute meeting on Tuesday with neither side feeling there had been any progress.

Major Sticking Points

Their longest meeting reportedly took place Jan. 24, when players rejected a league proposal concerned with raising the minimum salary and incentivizing teams not to manipulate prospects’ service time.

As the players seek to increase their wages and bargaining points, some of the chief sticking points have been service-time manipulation, the pre-arbitration bonus pool and the players’ desire for teams to implement an eight-team draft lottery.

This is the first baseball work stoppage since the strike that began Aug. 12, 1994, led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and didn’t resolve until April 2. Since then, the players and owners had reached five collective bargaining agreements without any shutdowns.

The work stoppage threatens to postpone the start of spring training, scheduled as usual for mid-February.



–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)