[cephasjames]

Major League Baseball work stoppage almost certain on Dec. 2

Baseball’s ninth work stoppage and first in 26 years appears almost certain to start Dec. 2, freezing the free-agent market and threatening the start of spring training in February.

Negotiations have been taking place since last spring, and each side thinks the other has not made proposals that will lead toward an agreement replacing the five-year contract that expires at 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 1.

MLB 'almost certain' to have first work stoppage in 26 years

While as noted players and owners have enjoyed a long run of labor peace -- unprecedentedly long since the first CBA was hammered out in the late 1960s -- several complicated economic issues make another such offseason less likely. The players as represented by the Major League Baseball Players Association likely have an ambitious negotiating agenda designed to recapture a dwindling share of league revenues, push back against the "tanking" phenomenon that's seeing teams choose to be non-competitive, and address service time manipulation by clubs. That's hardly an exhaustive list, but it hints at the broad scope of the current talks.