For the first time since December 2nd, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are meeting to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

According to ESPN Insider Jeff Passan, the meeting will take place today and the MLB is expected to make a “core-economics proposal.” The previous collective bargaining agreement expired on December 2nd, with just a seven-minute meeting between the players and owners on that day.

Throughout this lockout, no transactions, marketing, or advertising is able to take place. Teams can’t make trades, talk to players about signing, or recruit anybody to their teams.

Teams can’t even have their current players’ faces on their website. 

We also got this tweet yesterday about D-Bat opening their doors to the MLBPA for players to use their practice facilities while they are currently locked out of using team facilities.

Maybe I’m looking too much into it, but if D-Bat is now working with the MLBPA on practice facilities then it’s possible that the MLBPA is thinking that there will be no deal in the near future.

What a mess.

It was reported before the lockout that one of the big reasons no agreement was settled upon, was due to the players wanting an increase in the luxury tax. The players wanted the tax to increase by $30M, from $210M to $240M. 

The owners were not on board with that change, which is one of the many reasons the lockout is happening in the first place. MLB owners are cheap, and even with their hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, they are still denying the luxury tax proposal, along with many other propositions as well. 

A statement was put out by the MLB Players Association on the day of the lockout.

Here’s a portion of what they had to say:

“This shutdown is a dramatic measure, regardless of the timing. It is not required by law or for any other reason. It was the owners’ choice, plain and simple, specifically calculated to pressure Players into relinquishing rights and benefits and abandoning good faith bargaining proposals that will benefit not just Players, but the game and industry as a whole. 

We remain determined to return to the field under the terms of a negotiated collective bargain agreement that is fair to all parties, and provides fans with the best version of the game we all love.”

With spring training set to begin on February 26th, and Opening Day on March 31st, the MLB and MLBPA need to come to terms on a deal quickly. What needs to be done is what’s best for the game of baseball, and both sides should be eager to do whatever it takes to get the players back on the diamond in the spring.

Mandatory Credit: AP Photos