During collective-bargaining talks last winter, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association left a pair of connected issues unresolved. They set a deadline of July 25 to conclude further negotiations on implementing an international draft, which they tied to the removal of the qualifying-offer system.
That deadline passed Monday, and the players’ union rejected MLB’s ‘‘final’’ proposal, saying in a statement that the owners’ response to the its offers ‘‘fell well short of anything Players could consider a fair deal.’’
‘‘It’s unfortunate,’’ said outfielderIan Happ, the Cubs’ player representative. ‘‘Unfortunate for both parts of it — unfortunate for the international side and for the qualifying offer.