MLB Cancels Opening Day After Sides Fail To End Lockout

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Major League Baseball has canceled opening day.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday the sport will lose regular-season games over a labor dispute for the first time in 27 years after acrimonious lockout talks collapsed in the hours before management's deadline.

Manfred said he is canceling the first two series of the season that was set to begin March 31, dropping the schedule from 162 games to likely 156 games at most. Manfred said the league and union have not made plans for future negotiations. Players won't be paid for missed games.

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“So what’s next? The calendar dictates that we’re not going to be able to play the first two series of the regular season, and those games are officially canceled.” Manfred commented.

The league had a self-imposed deadline of 5 pm ET on March 1 to reach a deal.

Evan Drellich of The Athletic shared the final offer presented by the league, which included no changes to the competitive balance tax and slight increases to minimum salaries and the pre-arbitration bonus pool.

The dropping of the first two series eliminates the following games for the Minnesota Twins:

• @Chicago White Sox March 31-April 3
• @Cleveland Guardians April 4-6

If the two sides are able to establish an agreement, the next series on the schedule for the Twins is a 4-game home series against the Seattle Mariners, which starts April 7.

We'll see how much longer things continue before the two sides are able to strike a deal.