NEW YORK — Major League Baseball and its locked-out players agreed Thursday to negotiate on an international amateur draft, and management made a counteroffer as the sport’s drawn-out labor talks finally gained momentum toward an agreement.
MLB told players if an agreement was reached by 3 p.m. Thursday and ratified later in the day, players could start reporting to spring training on Friday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.
A deal Thursday also would preserve the 162-game schedule and opening day would be April 7, a little more than a week after the original March 31 date, the person said.