Whether Major League Baseball owners and players reach an agreement in time to save Opening Day is likely going to come down to the late innings before a Monday deadline. Even a rare second straight day of negotiations in Jupiter, Fla., failed to break a months-long pattern of incremental, even regressive, movement.
The players association responded to what it considered incremental movement from the owners Monday with tweaks Tuesday that included what the owners regarded as a third successive step backward from the players. The union reduced its asks for changes to Super Two eligibility—from 80% to 75%—and the draft lottery, from eight to seven teams.