Things are quite bleak across Major League Baseball right now with an eye towards the future. It's important to note that the league and Major League Baseball Players Association are both negotiating for what they believe is in their side's best interest. The current collective bargaining agreement doesn't expire until December. The 2026 season is going to be just fine. There is no threat to this season. But beyond it, everything is up in the air and the biggest threat either side could make is games lost. If the 2027 season isn't played as scheduled, it's going to be extremely damaging to the long-term health of the game and both sides know this. Both sides will use the potential loss of games as a way to negotiate with the other side, so there is going to be a lot of doom and gloom chatter over the next few months. On Thursday, the two sides went back to the negotiating table and the league made another proposal. In this proposal, the league said that if the players accepted a salary cap/floor, they would increase the minimum salary, eliminate qualifying offers, and eliminate deferred salary for future contracts. But the league also proposed limits to the length and size of contracts based on a certain percentage of the salary cap and league service time. Unsurprisingly, the MLBPA responded and simply shut it down with strong words and said that the owners are just: "suppressing player salaries and maximizing club profits." Things Aren't Going WellJun 19, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; A bucket of baseballs sit on the field before a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Miami Marlins before the game at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn ImagesThe nerve-wracking part of the day was union chief Bruce Meyer making it clear that he believes a lockout is coming on Dec. 1, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale. "Union chief Bruce Meyer continues to believes there will be an MLB lockout Dec. 1," Nightengale wrote on X. It's only June 25. If the two sides are operating in this way already that they believe some sort of lockout is coming, how are they supposed to bridge the gaps? Again, it's important to note that it's a negotiation tool. If you scare the other side into thinking games will be lost, theoretically, it could help to get concessions and close the gap in talks. But these two sides have not seemed to be anywhere near the same ballpark. Right now, it's June 25. There is a little more than five months to go until the CBA expires. The clock is ticking. When you break down the crux of the argument, the league is clearly trying to lower payroll across in the league in general with the salary cap and limits on salaries. It's not crazy in the grand scheme of other professional sports leagues. But the MLBPA represents the players and is looking for there not to be limits on wages. In any job, you don't want that. That's going to be the issue at the heart of this and at the end of the day, neither side is going to get exactly what they want. This public back-and-forth isn't doing anything to help either of their cases.The fans have been cited throughout this process. It's certainly true fans likely want a more competitive game, however that happens. But what's most important is the game actually being played. The squabbles of millionaires and billionaires aren't more important than the teams these fans have grown up watching. The actual games are what are important for fans. That's what they're watching, not board meetings on Zoom. Hopefully, these two sides start to try to find areas that could be common ground because again, neither side is going to get exactly what they want. At the end of the day, both sides will have to give in on points for the greater good. Rather than waiting until there's a disaster in December, or January, or February, hopefully they can start to make progress on the sooner side. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow