Major League Baseball on Friday announced the cancellation of another slate of Spring Training games as talks wore on for the fifth consecutive day in Jupiter, Fla.
MLB canceled exhibition games for March 5-7.
Coming Monday would be the cancellation of regular season games if the league and Major League Baseball Players Association don’t reach a collective bargaining agreement over the weekend. MLB has set Monday as the deadline to salvage Opening Day, March 31.
Commissioner Rob Manfred joined the talks Friday for the first time as he met one-on-one with union chief Tony Clark. The content of their conversation was not released.
The sides made progress on one issue — a new lottery draft system.
However, the sides remain far apart on the competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold, also known as the luxury tax, and bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. The sides are $95 million apart on the bonus pool. They’re also not close on minimum salary.
The sides will convene again Saturday.