Any chance for MLB and the players union to reach an 11th-hour deal on a new collective bargaining agreement appears to be over.
The players were told Wednesday afternoon negotiations were done for the day, according to multiple reports, paving the way for a lockout by the owners upon the CBA's 10:59 p.m. CT expiration Wednesday night.
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A lockout was always possible and many anticipated the move for months. In fact, commissioner Rob Manfred indicated one could be coming at the owners meetings in November.
“Honestly, I can’t believe there’s a single fan in the world who doesn’t understand that an offseason lockout that moves the process forward is different than a labor dispute that costs games,” Manfred said, according to the Associated Press.
MLB
MLB hasn't had a work stoppage since 1994. A players strike and subsequent lockout cost the final few months of the '94 season, including the World Series, and a chunk of games at the beginning of the 1995 season.
Unlike then, MLB isn't currently at risk of losing games and can continue negotiations in the coming weeks and months to reach a deal before any potential delay to the 2022 season.
A lockout would bring an indefinite transactions freeze, however, giving teams up until Wednesday's deadline to finalize any trades and free agent signings.