MLB Lockout: League Shows Willingness to Cancel Month of Games

Reports: MLB shows willingness to cancel first month originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

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MLB reportedly expressed a willingness to cancel a month's worth of games in a Monday meeting with the locked-out players, according to The Athletic's Evan Drellich and ESPN's Jeff Passan.

MLB today indicated a willingness to miss a month of games and took a more threatening tone than yesterday, sources briefed on the dayâs first meeting between MLB and the Players Association tell me,@Ken_Rosenthal and @FabianArdaya. Full context of conversation not yet known.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 28, 2022

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The rhetoric is ratcheting up. As @EvanDrellich said, MLB suggested in the first meeting with the MLBPA today that the league is willing to cancel a month's worth of games. What that means, or whether it's simply a threat, is unclear, but players have taken it as a clear threat.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 28, 2022

Monday is MLB's self-imposed deadline for a new labor agreement to avoid canceling regular season games. The two sides continued negotiations for an eighth straight day in Florida.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier this month losing games due to the league-implemented lockout would be a "disastrous outcome."

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However, many speculated this could be part of the owners' playbook since the league implemented the lockout Dec. 2. Majority of industry revenues come during pennant races and the postseason.

The two sides remained far apart on key issues heading into Monday.

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