New York.- Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are scheduled to hold a negotiating session tomorrow, the first since the league imposed a lockout on players on Dec. 2, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.
MLB contacted the union to arrange the meeting, during which the league plans to make a core economic proposal, according to sources.
The strike came on the heels of face-to-face meetings in Dallas, during which the parties made no progress on a new labor agreement, as the previous collective agreement was about to expire.
While the parties met during December to discuss minor issues, the path to any final deal runs through the economics of sports, and the meeting could herald the length of the game’s first work stoppage in more than a quarter century. So far, progress has been slow.
The gulf between the parties is significant, as players seek substantial gains across the board with free agency and earlier arbitration, a large increase in the competitive equilibrium tax threshold, players receive higher pay at ages more youth and new mechanisms to encourage teams to seek to win now.
The league has said it believes it pays the players a sufficient amount on the whole and seeks a better competitive balance and an extended postseason.
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