The delay to spring training is upon us.
Multiple big-league camps were scheduled to open Tuesday with the arrival of pitchers and catchers. That did not happen as the MLB lockout is ongoing.
MLB and the players union remain far apart in labor negotiations, and the threat of the regular season being delayed grows with each passing day.
Where do those negotiations stand, and how did we get here?
Catch up on the lockout's timeline, starting with the latest news back to a non-starter in negotiations from late last summer.
Spring training officially delayed
Feb. 15, 2022 — The first official report date for pitchers and catchers for multiple big-league camps arrives with the lockout still in place. The start of spring training is now delayed.
Spring training games are scheduled to begin in two weeks but look increasingly likely to be postponed due to the work stoppage.
Delay to season looms with little progress in labor talks
Feb. 12, 2022 — MLB and the players union meet in New York as the league makes its latest proposal. The 130-page proposal includes slight increases from past offers to the luxury tax threshold — the biggest issue in negotiations — and minimum player salary.
The proposal reportedly underwhelms the union, and the lack of significant progress in the meeting all but officially means spring training will be delayed. Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report in the coming days.
Rob Manfred vows 'good faith' proposal in next meeting
Feb. 10, 2022 — Manfred tells reporters at the quarterly owners meetings in Florida that MLB will make the players union a counterproposal in a scheduled Saturday meeting.
"We are going to make a good-faith, positive proposal in an effort to move the process forward," Manfred says. "It's a good proposal."
Whether MLB's proposal assures progress in negotiations looks critical. Manfred adds there's "no change" to the status of spring training, but a delay looks inevitable considering teams are scheduled to report next week.
An on-time start to the regular season is also in jeopardy. Opening Day is scheduled for March 31.
Saturday's scheduled meeting will be the first between the league and union in over a week.
Union rejects league's mediation request, both release statements
Feb. 4, 2022 — The union rejects MLB's proposal for a federal mediator to join negotiations, one day after the league makes the request.
"The clearest path to a fair and timely agreement is to get back to the table," a union statement reads, in part. "Players stand ready to negotiate."
MLB later releases its own statement.
"It is clear the most productive path forward would be the involvement of an impartial third party to help bridge gaps and facilitate an agreement," the statement reads, in part.
The union rejecting mediation is the biggest indication yet that spring training will be delayed, if not the start to the regular season, as the two sides remain far apart in negotiations.
Owners won't make counteroffer, seek federal mediation
Feb. 3, 2022 — Amid the snail-paced progress in negotiations, MLB seeks assistance of a federal mediator to help resolve the differences with the players union, ESPN's Jeff Passan reports.