Major League Baseball will begin canceling regular-season games if the league and the Players Association can’t come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement by Monday.
The games would not be made up and players would not be paid a full-season salary.
A spokesperson said, “A deadline is a deadline. Missed games are missed games. Salary will not be paid for those games.”
It’s the first time the league has publicly said it would shorten the season if a new deal isn’t reached by the deadline. The league first gave the players the Feb. 28 deadline two weeks ago and reiterated it to them Wednesday. Citing health concerns, the league wants about four weeks of spring training — hence their Feb. 28 deadline. Opening Day is scheduled for March 31.
The players have never acknowledged the deadline.
The sides remain far apart on a new agreement. The union is likely to pull expanded playoffs off the table if players aren’t paid a full season’s salary.
