After many hours at the negotiating table — and many more hours spent tweeting about what was happening at said table — the MLB lockout is over, the Free Press can confirm.
Multiple reports suggest that the players voted in favor of the owners’ latest proposal, 26-12, but that the union’s eight-player executive board voted against the proposal.
The deal now needs to be ratified by the owners, which is expected.
Players on 40-man rosters are expected to head to spring training sites over the next week or so with spring training games beginning shortly thereafter.
Detroit Tigers’ Opening Day should be April 8 at home against the White Sox, according to MLB’s prior announcement that the first two series of the regular season were canceled. Those games will reportedly be made up with a few doubleheaders in addition to tacking a few extra days to the end of the season.
[ What Tigers must focus on now that MLB lockout is over ]
The proposed five-year agreement ends a 99-day lockout. The expectation is teams will play a full 162-game schedule, with the first week of games that was canceled last week being rescheduled with doubleheaders.
The Tigers’ spring training action begins March 18 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. Detroit is currently slated for 12 spring training games, including one split squad, but the league has not confirmed schedule details.
But with the lockout over, it seems likely the league with get going as soon as possible, not only with the preseason but with trades and free agency, in terms of 40-man roster additions, as well.
The MLB Players Associations responded to the league’s most recent proposal Wednesday morning after another extended negotiating session deep into the night prior, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale. The league set a new deadline of Wednesday afternoon, threatening to cancel another week or games, and pushing any hope of a 162-game season to the brink.
That deadline passed without a deal, and the owners canceled two more weeks. But on Thursday, new momentum emerged and a new deadline of 3 p.m. was set.
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After days of consternation over the luxury tax threshold and an expanded playoff format, the attention turned to a final few issues. Owners wanted an international draft, in theory — to curb spending on foreign prospects — and was reportedly willing to eliminate qualifying offers for free agents and their resulting compensatory draft picks.
The owners offered a $230 million starting point, increasing to $244 million over the five years of the CBA, nearing the players’ neighborhood of $232 million and $250 million. MLB originally offered a $214 million opening-year tax.
The league locked out the players Dec. 2 and set a Feb. 28 deadline to implement a new collective bargaining agreement. When that came and went, Opening Day was pushed back from March 31.
Minor-leaguers have been in spring training facilities, playing scrimmages and working out with instructors.
Free Press reporter Evan Petzold and USA contributed to this report.
Follow the Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Tyler Davis can be contacted at tjdavis@freepress.com or on Twitter @TDavisFreep.
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