MLB, MLBPA have "heated" 90-minute meeting, remain far apart as Spring Training looms

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about MLB and the MLBPA's 90-minute meeting in New York on Tuesday, and how the two sides remain far apart on several major issues with Spring Training report dates looming. In Tuesday's meeting, the MLBPA made slight alterations to its proposals about the pre-arbitration bonus pool and service time manipulation. They lowered the amount they're asking for in the bonus pool from $105 million to $100 million, but importantly, they continue to ask for players to reach arbitration after two years, compared to the three it is now. The league has said that is a non-starter.

Ben goes through issue by issue discussing where the league and the players stand, and the separation that exists between them. He discusses arbitration and pre-arbitration pools. He discusses the luxury tax, which is a major point of contention. It has functioned like a soft cap, while its intended purpose was to prevent high-payroll teams from buying success and bulldozing over smaller market teams. It hasn't played out that way, with tons of parity still existing in the sport even among smaller market teams. The league is a very small increase while the players want a big one. Ben also discusses the issues of a draft lottery and service time manipulation. Regarding the draft lottery, the league's warts are clearly showing, as the players' asks are clearly aimed at competitive integrity, and league seems to be fighting against that, which is hard to justify.

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