With the Major League Baseball players lockout now into it’s 11th week, and with negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association towards establishing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement at a virtual standstill, the chances for an on-time start to the 2022 regular season are diminishing fast; let alone the start of Spring Training 2022. As such, that long-anticipate first bite of your very first Dodger Dog of the new season is also on hold.

On Monday evening, ESPN‘s Jeff Passan reported that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (et. al.,) had asked MLBPA Chief Tony Clark (et. al.,) to reduce the number of minor league players a team can roster on their ‘Domestic Reserve List’ from the current 180 to 150 after the 2022 season but for the duration of the new CBA.

This from Passan:

Currently, the Domestic Reserve List — which governs the number of minor league players a team can roster at any time — is at 180. The league proposed keeping the number at 180 for 2022 but allowing the commissioner’s office to reduce the maximum number of players to as few as 150 over the rest of the collective bargaining agreement, sources said. The proposal says the league could adjust the reserve list’s size “up or down.”

Passan also noted that the Minor Leagues underwent a massive overhaul in December 2020, when MLB eliminated 42 teams and implemented a system under which 120 teams were spread out evenly among the 30 MLB teams’ Minor League affiliates. He also added that any change to the reserve-list size would not affect the number of minor league teams, as nine years still remain on the current 10-year contracts of the 120 MiLB teams.

Needless to say, MLB’s proposal was not well received by the MLBPA.

With all due respect to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (which isn’t much), work on solving CBA matters in your own house with the MLBPA and leave the reasonably-healthy MiLB (with its own president) alone.

…there are Dodger Dogs at stake here.

Play Ball!

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