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The MLB lockout will likely delay the opening day of baseball on March 31, making it difficult to hold a 162-game season—and potentially disrupting New York City FC’s schedule.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Major League Baseball Players Association will unanimously reject MLB’s final proposal before today’s 5 pm ET negotiating deadline. According to Passan, “MLB has threatened to cancel its March 31 Opening Day without a new deal.”
BREAKING: MLBPA player leaders agreed unanimously not to accept MLB's final proposal, and there will be no deal on a new collective-bargaining agreement before MLB's 5 p.m. ET deadline, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2022
MLB has threatened to cancel its March 31 Opening Day without a new deal.
The impasse threatens to derail NYCFC’s 2022 elegant and supremely rational MLS home schedule, in which all but one game will be played on a Saturday or a Sunday at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field. If the Yankees or Mets move around their games, NYCFC will have no choice but to accommodate those revamped schedules by changing the dates or venues of their home games.
Representative of the club owners and the Players Association met until 2:30 am ET this morning. Club owners then agreed to extend the deadline to 5:00 pm ET and the sides continue to negotiate.
The Players Association is rejecting the club owner’s current recent offer. According to Passan, the deal favors club owners at the expense of players. He writes, “player pay has decreased for four consecutive years, even as industry revenues grew and franchise values soared.”
According to The Athletic, it is unclear when club owners and the Players Association will negotiate again.
UPDATED MARCH 1: MLB Commissioner Bob Manfred held a televised press conference and announced that the first two scheduled series will be canceled, delaying the opening of the season by one week. Manfred stated that those games will not be rescheduled.
UPDATED MARCH 10, 4:08 PM ET:
MLB and the MLBP reportedly reached an agreement today to end the lockout. It is expected to be voted on and ratified later by both parties.
Spring training will start this weekend, and opening day will be delayed one week to April 7. According to the New York Times, a full 162-game season will be played, which means that each team will need to reschedule two series. How that might change the home schedule for NYCFC hasn’t yet been determined.