February 25, 2022, MLB and the Players Association are still in negotiations. Time flies ; the two camps must find common ground before Monday to save a few games for the season.
As my colleague, Charles-Alexis Brisebois, mentioned at 91.9 Sports yesterday, the ball is in the owners’ court. Players will lose money if matches are canceled (and not rescheduled), while big boss will only lose money in home games. And players want to play…
So they have all the pressure to accept what MLB offers.
A few proposals have been accepted by both sides, however. The Players’ Association has proposed reducing the number of draft rounds to 20, which was set at 40 in the past. Rob Manfred and his band accepted.
Interesting nugget buried in this that I wasn’t aware of:
“MLBPA proposed cutting the amateur draft from 40 rounds to 20, which MLB accepted.” https://t.co/e8yn1twQSf
—Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) February 25, 2022
Interesting, when you think about it. 40 rounds is a lot, but reducing it to 20 is a huge drop, too.
From 40 to 20 rounds, at least 600 fewer hopefuls will be drafted. Will it have a big impact on these players?
The NHL and NFL draft has seven rounds, while the NBA draft has two. MLB was really high with 40 rounds, so 20 makes more sense to me.
In 2020, there were five rounds and last year there were 20.
Other important proposals accepted by the two clans concerning the repechage: for the first four selections, a lottery will be established. It was MLB that proposed this and the players agreed on the condition that seven teams (instead of four) be involved in the lottery system.
Adjustments will also be made to encourage competition.
In short, the negotiations are progressing, but it is midnight minus one. It is at the economic level that it blocks.
