Is MLB spring training cancelled? As lockout drags on through Opening Day, here's what we know

JUPITER — Major League Baseball set a Tuesday 5 p.m. deadline with the MLB Players Association to finalize a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The players didn’t need that much time to respond.

Before 4:30 p.m., the union emphatically voted down MLB’s latest proposal, abruptly ending a week-and-a-half of exhausting negotiations at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Instead of a joint press conference celebrating the end of the three-month lockout, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the first week of regular season games have been canceled.

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The door is open for more lost games. MLB’s intention is to not make these games up, nor pay the players for lost games. Whether that changes once talks resume (likely next week) is up in the air.

What is clear for spring training sites in Palm Beach County, Martin County, the rest of Florida and in Arizona is that the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues are being pushed back once again.

A few weeks ago the commissioner said four weeks of spring workouts would be minimum to get the players ready for the season. Even that is now unclear, as players are organizing workouts and scrimmages on their own.

No spring training games in Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie

For now, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach and Clover Park in Port St. Lucie will be without spring training.

“The concern about our fans is at the very top of our consideration list, followed closely by places like where we are standing, where peoples’ livelihood depends upon baseball — spring training baseball,” Manfred said. “And certainly [it’s] an important part of the calculus for us and for our owners.”

The frustrations of not reaching agreement in Jupiter were on display Tuesday, especially from the MLBPA.

“Rob Manfred and MLB’s owners have cancelled the start of the season," the MLBPA statement started. "Players and fans around the world who love baseball are disgusted, but sadly not surprised. From the beginning of these negotiations, Players’ objectives have been consistent – to promote competition, provide fair compensation for young Players, and to uphold the integrity of our market system.

"Against the backdrop of growing revenues and record profits, we are seeking nothing more than a fair agreement. What Rob Manfred characterized as a ‘defensive lockout’ is, in fact, the culmination of a decade-long attempt by owners to break our Player fraternity. As in the past, this effort will fail. We are united and committed to negotiating a fair deal that will improve the sport for Players, fans and everyone who loves our game.”

A couple of sticking point in the stalled talks are the competitive balance tax (luxury tax), and pre-arbitration bonus pool (for players with less than three years of MLB service time). MLB's last offer had the CBT at $214 million, and the players are seeking it being raised to $238 million. In the pre-arb bonus pool, the owners are offering $30 million and the players are seeking $85 million.

For a low-revenue club like the Marlins, this is significant. It gives larger revenue teams like the New York Yankees more room to spend without being penalized for going over the tax threshold.

"We have a payroll disparity problem," Manfred said. "To weaken the only mechanism in the agreement that is designed to promote some semblance of competitive balance is just something I don't think the club group is prepared to do right now."

The players argue the current system exploits the younger, less expensive players.

"The game has suffered damage for a while now," said Tony Clark, head of the players' union. "The game has changed. The game has been manipulated. The value inherent, and how players are respected and viewed, has changed. Players have been commoditized in a way that is really hard to explain in the grand scheme of things."

The Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals share Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, while the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals make The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches their spring home. The New York Mets play at Clover Park.

Marlins' Opening Day series vs. Braves called off

For the Marlins, Tuesday’s news means Opening Day, originally set for March 31 against the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, has been called off. Seven games in all, four with Atlanta and three against the Texas Rangers, are no longer on the schedule.

The Marlins on Wednesday issued ticket information via the following link: https://www.mlb.com/marlins/tickets/impacted-ticket-policy

Roger Dean, The Ballpark and Clover Park on Wednesday released their revised Spring Training update, citing that games scheduled through March 11 are no longer possible. Details for those who already have purchased tickets are available on their stadium or team websites.

For Roger Dean: rogerdeanchevroletstadium.com

For The Ballpark: ballparkpalmbeaches.com/spring-training-update

For Clover: mlb.com/mets/spring-training

Bottom line is fans who bought tickets at the stadiums have the option to be issued an account credit to be used for a future game or receive a refund. Fans who bought tickets from a secondary provider are being told to reach out to those businesses.

Spring training has long been an economic boom for Palm Beach County. But it’s been negatively impacted the last few years due to the coronavirus and now the lockout.

In 2019, when there were full spring schedules and no pandemic restrictions, the county raked in $70,145,500 in economic impact, per the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. Then in 2020, the virus resulted in the final two weeks of spring training being canceled. That resulted in a 25-percent drop in economic impact from the year before — totaling $53.2 million. In 2021, with stadium capacity restrictions, spring training generated $39.7 million in economic impact, a drop of 25 percent from ’20.

With the lockout dragging on, the new round of negotiations will take place in New York rather than Jupiter. Meanwhile, Minor League camp for players not on 40-man rosters will be opening soon.

The Marlins already have had their minor leaguers training on the backfields in Jupiter. Since they aren't part of the union, their season will be played as scheduled.

“The clubs and our owners fully understand just how important it is to our millions of fans that we get the game on the field as soon as possible,” Manfred said. “To that end, we want to bargain and we want a deal with the Players Association as quickly as possible."

Joe Frisaro covered the Marlins for mlb.com from 2002-20 and is the founder of Man On Second Baseball –manonsecondbaseball.com. Follow his podcasts on Twitter @ManOn2nd and the Five Reasons Sports YouTube channel.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Spring training 2022 could lose more games as MLB cancels Opening Day