It seemed that a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Major League Baseball’s (MLB) players and owners was getting close again on Wednesday afternoon. The once huge gaps between the two sides had narrowed to just $2 million on the lowest tier of the competitive balance tax (CBT), and just $10 million on the minimum salary, with $25 million separating the parties on a pre- arbitration bonus pool. Seemingly chump change in the grand scheme of things.
However, after 97 days of the owners’ lockout, and after bargaining past midnight on Tuesday, MLB owners resurrected a ghost from the past, by tying elimination of qualifying offer compensation for elite free agent players to an international draft.