The collective bargaining agreement is now awaiting ratification from both sides.
Our unnecessarily long national nightmare appears to be over. As first reported by Daniel Álvarez of El Extrabase—and of Marlins Jeopardy fame—Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association have found common ground on a new collective bargaining agreement. As of Thursday afternoon, Day 99 of the MLB lockout, we’re just waiting for both sides to officially ratify it.
Opening Day games are expected to be played on April 7 and April 8, preceded by an abbreviated, regionalized spring training. The regular season schedule will be extended by three days and include several doubleheaders in order to cram in a full 162 games.
The league’s transaction freeze could be lifted shortly after 6 p.m. ET when the owners hold a conference call to ratify, per SNY’s Andy Martino. Since December 2, there have not been any moves involving players on MLB 40-man rosters.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the players who voted against the final proposal were the eight members of the union’s executive subcommittee and reps from the Mets, Yankees, Astros and Cardinals. That means Marlins player rep Miguel Rojas was part of the majority.
As a refresher, here is the Marlins’ depth chart coming out of the lockout. They were in active negotiations to add even more talent via both free agency and trade when the lights went out, particularly in the form of a veteran, bat-first outfielder.
Buckle up for the best kind of chaos.