MLB/MLBPA bargaining session scheduled for Thursday

Well, there’s a little bit of good news. According to MLB.com, Major League Baseball and the Player’s Association are scheduled to hold a Zoom call bargaining session on Thursday with the goal of coming to the table on a collective bargaining agreement.

The league has been locked out since December 2 with very little movement, so the hope is that this meeting will get things moving in the right direction.

This meeting was called by MLB, who hope to add to their last proposal, which has some things already settled. According to MLB.com, those are:

Draft lottery that would help disincentivize tanking, the elimination of the qualifying offer system, the universal designated hitter and an increase in the minimum salary for younger players.

The Player’s Association is still looking for better revenue sharing, changes to free agency, and changes to service time and arbitration, though there’s no word yet if the league is going to bend on those points. There’s also been discussions on expanding the postseason, though no consensus has been reached there either.

But regardless, meetings are good news, and hopefully the two sides can come to an agreement. Spring Training is scheduled to begin February 25, which is just a month and a half away.