According to this tweet by MLB Network‘s Jon Heyman on Wednesday morning, the MLB Players Association is expected to offer a counterproposal to the one submitted to them by MLB last week, which, of course, they overwhelmingly rejected. Heyman adds that the union’s counterproposal towards establishing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and (hopefully) bringing an end to the (now) seven-week MLB players lockout is expected within a matter of days.

The league subsequently touched on some of the so-called “core economics” last Thursday, marking the first actual discussions between the two factions, especially contentious issues after the December 2 lockout. However, MLB’s proposal didn’t address the most pertinent issues, specifically with no mention of free agency eligibility or the competitive balance tax. Instead, MLB’s proposal focused on such topics as the draft order, arbitration, possible solutions to service time manipulation, and playoff expansion, among others.

As MLB Trade Rumors’ Anthony Franco noted in his follow-up piece on Wednesday:

“According to various reports, the players were generally dissatisfied with the league’s decision not to cover free agency or the luxury tax. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the union try to reignite discussions on those issues, as the MLBPA is seeking earlier paths for players to potentially reach the open market and dramatically heightened tax thresholds.“

Stay tuned, Dodgers fans. Things are about to get real.

Play Ball!

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