Will There Be An MLB Season In 2022? Worries Of No Baseball Increase During Lockout

Recent negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association provide little optimism that the lockout will be over anytime soon. The first week of games have already been canceled for the 2022 season, and there are concerns that a much bigger portion of the schedule could be eliminated.

Will there be a 2022 MLB season at all? The idea that there won’t be any baseball this year remains unlikely, but the possibility can’t be ruled out.

Karl Ravech, play-by-play voice for ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” believes it’s “becoming increasingly apparent” that the entire 2022 season could be lost. Reports suggest that MLB and the players’ union are deadlocked, unwilling to offer many more concessions in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that we may not have a Major League season in 2022. Both sides believe they have made significant concessions to the other-each side points at the other as having not done nearly enough. As has been reported, the word of the day is deadlock.
— Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) March 7, 2022

Both sides believe they’ve made many major concessions and the other side has made very few. Both sides believe the other is being unreasonable. The one thing both sides agree on now? That we may be in for quite a wait.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 7, 2022

The competitive balance tax appears to be the biggest issue. The league has proposed a CBT of $220 million in 2022 that will eventually reach $230 million in 2026, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The union wants the CBT to be $238 million this season and $263 million in four years.

The minimum salary for players, pre-arbitration bonus pool money and a draft lottery are also sticking points.

"We were hoping to see some movement in our direction to give us additional flexibility and get a deal done quickly," league spokesperson Glen Caplin said after the two sides met Sunday. "The players' association chose to come back to us with a proposal that was worse than Monday night and was not designed to move the process forward. On some issues, they even went backwards. Simply put, we are deadlocked. We will try to figure out how to respond but nothing in this proposal makes it easy."

The CBT (luxury tax threshold) remains the biggest issue/impediment of many to a deal. Owners are at $220M in 2022 to $230M in ‘26, players $238M in ‘22 to $263M in ‘26. One hope heard: “If they make a deal on CBT all the other issues may go away.”
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 7, 2022

Clarification on non-monetary penalties: Proposals on the table from both sides would eliminate the penalties for being a CBT payor currently associated with the direct compensation system. https://t.co/JxqXmoiNgv
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 6, 2022

This is the first time in 27 years that regular-season MLB games have been canceled because of labor strife. The 1994 World Series was canceled, and the 1995 season was reduced to a 144-game schedule.

The 2022 MLB season can start no earlier than April 7. The date for Opening Day will continue to be pushed until the lockout ends.