Major League Baseball tweaked its proposal regarding the competitive balance tax in its meeting with the players’ association Saturday. The change eliminates draft pick penalties for teams exceeding the first threshold while raising the threshold from previous offers in the final three years of the deal, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.
The proposal changes come two days after commissioner Rob Manfred said, “You’re always one breakthrough away from making an agreement,” as the two sides hope to make significant progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement.
MLB presented a 130-page proposal to the union covering all aspects of the CBA, big and small. With spring training camps set to open in a matter of days, the league is hoping the proposal will jump-start negotiations.
In addition to changes to the CBT, the league also presented tweaks to the minimum salary structure, increased its pre-arbitration bonus pool offer and attempted to further disincentivize service time manipulation.
The proposal does not address revenue sharing or arbitration years — two major sticking points for the union so far.