Elephant Rumblings: Will the MLB season start on time?

Good morning, Athletics Nation!

Last week, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred seemed bullish on the prospect of a timely Opening Day of the 2022 season, scheduled for March 31.

“I’m an optimist, ... I believe we will have an agreement in time to play our regular schedule. … We’re doing everything we can to get a deal done for our fans,” said Manfred at Thursday’s owners meetings.

Over the weekend, MLB offered their version of “doing everything” with a laundry list of incremental concessions that closed very little of the colossal gap between the current bargaining positions of the league and the Players Association. The league’s proposal left Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic bereft of the high hopes Manfred held out.

Drellich and Rosenthal opined on Sunday that the two sides would likely need to reach an agreement by the beginning of March to allow for a shortened spring training and a timely start to the new season. But the league gave mere inches and left the players feeling “lowballed and frustrated” yet again.

One particularly stark area of disagreement concerns the pre-arbitration bonus pool. The Players Association most recently reduced their demand from $105 to $100 million, and the League matched the players’ concession in nominal terms, from $10 to $15 million. Obviously, much more ground must be given in a hurry to close the remaining $85 million in dispute by the end of February.

Whose cup will you drink from? Manfred’s glass half full of everything? Or would you rather sip sparingly from Drellich and Rosenthal’s brew of sober assessment, in case months remain before baseball commences?

A’s Coverage:

• McDonald: Could The Guardians Be A Dark Horse For Matt Olson?
• Slusser and Kawahara: A’s signing OF/1B Eric Thames to minor-league deal
• Hall: A’s to Sign Eric Thames to minor league contract
• Hall: Jeremy Giambi, former A’s outfielder, dies at 47
• AP: Coroner: Former major leaguer Jeremy Giambi died by suicide

MLB News & Interest:

• Hall: Why increasing minimum salary should be players’ top priority
• Nico: “Today’s The Big Day!” Or Not
• Feinsand: MLB’s new proposal to MLBPA addresses 4 core economic issues
• McDonald: MLB Argues For Minor League Players To Remain Unpaid For Spring Training
• Zencka: Player Valuation Trends Remain At Issue In CBA Negotiations
• Drellich: MLB presents comprehensive proposal as spring training looms, union officials ‘underwhelmed’ ($$$)
• Millerick: What Rob Manfred should say in his media address
• McDonald: Calvin Jones Passes Away
• Castrovince: The likelihood of a no-hitter in each ballpark
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

CBA talks proceeding at glacial pace

Happy 78 to Cap’n Sal!

RIP Jeremy Giambi

Former Mariners reliever Calvin Jones dies at 58

Kyler/Cards drama?

Black History Month: Baylor homered in first AB as Athletic in 1976