Major League Baseball
NEW YORK, NY (WSAU) — It’s official.
Major League Baseball’s labor dispute is now impacting actual games, with the league announcing on Friday that all Spring Training games have been canceled through March 4th.
The move costs the Brewers eight games over seven days including two split-squad games on Sunday, February 27th. The Spring Training opener is now scheduled for March 5th against the Chicago Cubs at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
Pitchers and Cathers were supposed to report to team camps in Arizona and Florida for all 30 clubs by last Wednesday, though that deadline came and went without any acknowledgment from either the owners or the players union. Both sides remain far apart on key sticking points in the labor agreement such as minimum salary, service time manipulation, salary arbitration, and free agency.
The two sides met briefly on Thursday, but insiders report the meeting lasted about 15 minutes and was not described as productive. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the owners have set a February 28th deadline for a deal that would allow the full 162-game season to be played as scheduled.
Passan also reports that player reps and owners could begin marathon bargaining sessions on Monday, February 21st in an attempt to beat that deadline.
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