An already fractious set of MLB labor talks took another difficult turn Thursday, as the league proposed a heavily restricted free agency window that was quickly rebuked by the MLB Players Association.
Extending from a previously proposed set of cutbacks to the league’s reserve system, management laid out a supplemental vision that would rework how the sport’s free agency operates. Among the latest potential shifts put on the table:
A new calendar for free agency. Instead of extending through the entire offseason, the owners envision operating in two parts: a roughly two-week period extending from the Monday of Winter Meetings in early December to the 21st of that month, and then a second part beginning on the first Monday of February. The roughly six weeks in between would be a quiet period in which no trades or free-agent signings would be allowed. With this proposed shift, management envisions an initial free agency sprint more akin to the NFL and NBA.
The creation of weekly rosters to reduce in-season churn, with teams operating all year more like they do during the playoffs. There would be permitted exceptions for situations such as trades, injuries, and waiver claims.
A reduction of injured-list minimums from the current 10 days for position players and 15 days for pitchers to new timetables of one and two weeks, respectively, and an increase in the 60-day IL (which doesn’t count against 40-man roster limits) to 12 weeks.
