Lockout over: MLB, union agree to terms on new CBA

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association on Thursday tentatively agreed on terms of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, making a 1 p.m. MST deadline imposed by the league to save a 162-game season.

The union announced the player vote around 3:25 p.m.

Major League Baseball and its locked-out players gained momentum toward an agreement Thursday after the bickering sides agreed to negotiate on an international amateur draft and management made a new counteroffer.

MLB told players if an agreement was reached by 3 p.m. Thursday and ratified later in the day, players could start reporting to spring training on Friday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.

MLB.com’s official story announcement said camps could open officially Sunday.

The original report date for pitchers and catchers was originally scheduled for Feb. 15.

The player vote went in favor of an agreement, 26-12, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Free agency will begin as soon as the new CBA is officially ratified, which could come as early as Thursday.

As for the regular season, the year will still be pushed back from the original start date of March 31 to April 7 for most teams.

MLB is expected to add double-headers in order to reach the 162 games played for each team.

In a decision that has quickly been reversed, MLB on Wednesday canceled the first two weeks of the regular season until April 14. The announcement marked the second set of games to be canceled after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred axed the first week of the season on March 1.

Diamondbacks CEO and president Derrick Hall spoke with Burns & Gambo about the negotiations for the first time on Wednesday.

“Shame on all of us but we should have gotten a deal done before the season and especially before spring training started to have the schedule rearranged,” he said. “I mean that’s sad. I still think there was ample time to get a deal done.”

Under a deal reached on the 99th day of a lockout that has delayed the season, the sides agreed to a July 25 deadline to establish an international draft that would start in 2024.

Talks aimed at ending the lockout had bogged down on the draft issue Wednesday, and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred canceled 93 more games, raising the total to 184. He said opening day would be no earlier than April 14.

The sides narrowed many economic differences to a small margin in recent days.

MLB raised its luxury tax threshold proposal to $230 million this year earlier this week, and its final year of 2026 to $244 million on Thursday. That was up from $240 million and almost the midpoint of the union’s $250 million.

MLB kept its proposal on this year’s minimum salary at $700,000, $10,000 less than players, and raised its 2026 minimum by $10,000 to $780,000, matching players.

MLB raised its offer on the pre-arbitration bonus pool from $40 million to $50 million — players were at $65 million, with $5 million annual increases.

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