Asked to explain the league’s stance of canceling games rather than rescheduling them, Manfred cited the logistical difficulties of season-long interleague play. As for negotiating missed pay and service time for those games, Manfred said, “Our position is that games that are not played players will not get paid.”
When little progress was made last week, the league’s negotiating team told the union that if there was no agreement by Monday, M.L.B. would begin canceling games. M.L.B. reasoned that a minimum of four weeks of spring training — two weeks shorter than normal — was needed before the regular-season opener to avoid a spike in player injuries.
Although the union didn’t agree with M.L.B.’s deadline, it understood the gravity of the situation and was willing to explore every avenue to strike a deal in which a full season could be played. So both sides met and talked again on Monday. When some modest progress was made over 16 ½ hours of talks, M.L.B. extended its deadline until the next evening.
But talks on Tuesday didn’t prove fruitful. In fact, they turned more contentious, and the union’s rejected M.L.B.’s so-called best and final offer within the last hour, after consulting with players.
M.L.B. brought the sport to a standstill on Dec. 2 when it locked out the players, the day after the previous five-year labor agreement expired. Manfred said then that he was doing so as a defensive move to protect the 2022 season.