MLB lockout tracker: What CBA talks mean for Phillies baseball originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Free agency opened Monday, beginning an offseason that could be interrupted before the Phillies finish reshaping their roster.
Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. If the league and MLB Players Association do not reach another deal, owners are expected to impose a lockout that would halt major-league signings, trades and communication between teams and players.
That would not immediately cancel games. The previous lockout lasted 99 days before the sides reached an agreement in March 2022 and preserved a full 162-game schedule. Here is a complete explanation of how another lockout would work.
But the two sides remain far apart, primarily because MLB continues to push for a salary cap and floor that the union refuses to accept.
That disagreement carries particular importance in Philadelphia. The Phillies have consistently operated above the luxury-tax threshold under managing partner John Middleton, and MLB identified them as one of eight clubs that would have exceeded the cap in its latest proposal.
It also adds uncertainty to an offseason in which Philadelphia has needs at catcher, in the outfield and throughout its bullpen. Here are 20 free agents who could fit at different prices.
This tracker will be updated throughout negotiations, with the newest developments appearing first.
Last updated: Nov. 4
Where negotiations stand
- Current agreement expires: Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET
- Latest MLB proposal: A $258.2 million salary cap and $180.2 million floor beginning in 2028
- MLBPA response: The union remains firmly opposed to any cap
- Phillies impact: They could operate under the existing luxury-tax system in 2027 but would have to prepare for a hard ceiling the following year
Nov. 3: MLB pushes proposed cap to 2028; union rejects it
MLB’s revised offer did not remove the salary cap. It pushed its proposed implementation back one year.
Under the league’s latest proposal, the existing luxury-tax and revenue-sharing systems would remain in place for 2027. A hard cap of $258.2 million and floor of $180.2 million would then begin in 2028, accompanied by a 50-50 split of defined baseball revenue and centralized media revenue.
Teams could initially operate at 90 percent of the floor, or approximately $162.2 million, but would be required to reach the full amount over a three-year period.
Using 2026 payrolls, MLB estimated that eight clubs — including the Phillies — would have to reduce spending by a combined $528 million. Twelve others would need to add a combined $636 million to reach the floor.
Several other changes would begin in 2027 under the proposal:
- Players who have reached age 30 could qualify for free agency after five seasons rather than six, although their current club would retain an opportunity to keep them for another year.
- The qualifying-offer system would be eliminated for other free agents.
- The minimum salary would rise to $1 million for players with at least two years of service and $900,000 for those with less.
- The pre-arbitration bonus pool would increase from $50 million to $65 million.
- Optional assignments would be reduced from five to four, with additional limits placed on roster movement.
- Players would become eligible for the Rule 5 draft one year earlier.
Earlier provisions limiting free-agent contracts and eliminating new deferrals would also remain part of MLB’s overall proposal.
The MLBPA rejected the revision, saying a transition year would not change its objections to a cap. The union argued that MLB’s system would reduce player compensation, threaten guaranteed contracts through escrow and cut amateur signing bonuses.
For the Phillies, the delay is significant. MLB’s original proposal would have required them to become cap-compliant immediately in 2027. The revised version would allow them to spend under the familiar luxury-tax system for another season.
It would not make this winter’s decisions irrelevant to a future cap. Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, J.T. Realmuto, Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez are each under contract through at least 2028. Any multiyear addition the Phillies make this offseason would also remain on their books when the proposed system begins.
Zack Wheeler’s contract expires after 2027, meaning his $42 million average annual value would come off the books before the proposed cap takes effect.
Oct. 8: MLB proposes shorter season and different postseason format
MLB proposed reducing the regular season from 162 games to 154 beginning in 2029, with one scheduled off day each week. Player salaries would not be reduced, although contractual benchmarks would be adjusted proportionally.
The eight eliminated regular-season games would be offset partly by expanding the Division Series from five games to seven. MLB also proposed staggering postseason games to reduce weekday afternoon windows.
A more immediate change would begin in 2027. The No. 3 seed in each league would choose whether to face the fifth or sixth seed in the Wild Card Series. After that round, the No. 1 seed would select which Wild Card winner it wanted to play.
The Phillies entered the 2026 postseason as the National League’s sixth seed. Under the proposed format, their opponent would have selected them rather than being determined automatically by the bracket.
The union said it would review the scheduling changes but objected to MLB making the proposal contingent upon the acceptance of a cap-and-floor system.
Aug. 27: MLB proposes weekly rosters and condensed free agency
MLB presented several changes aimed at reducing roster movement.
Teams would set their 26-man roster each Monday and generally be unable to make changes during the week, with exceptions for injuries, trades, waiver claims and family leave. Clubs would be allowed to carry 14 pitchers, one more than the current limit.
The injured-list minimums would shift to one full week for position players and two weeks for pitchers. The 60-day injured list would become a 12-week list.
MLB also proposed a new offseason calendar. Following the option-decision period, teams could negotiate with free agents but could not finalize agreements until the opening day of the Winter Meetings. A concentrated signing window would last until Dec. 21, followed by a freeze on major-league transactions until the first Monday in February.
The MLBPA argued that compressing free agency would reduce player leverage by forcing players to compete for contracts within the same narrow window.
All of MLB’s proposed changes were tied to the union accepting a salary cap.
July 21: Players respond with their amateur draft proposal
The MLBPA proposed retaining the current 20-round domestic draft and preserving eligibility for high school and junior-college players. It also sought to make college sophomores eligible.
Other elements included:
- Increasing the amount available for signing bonuses
- Continuing to allow players to negotiate their bonuses
- Preserving competitive-balance selections for lower-revenue clubs
- Allowing teams to trade draft picks under certain restrictions
- Moving the draft from July back to June
- Providing additional bonus-pool money to lower-revenue teams that reach the postseason
The proposal was the union’s response to MLB’s attempt to overhaul both the domestic and international entry systems.
July 14: The divide becomes public in Philadelphia
No formal proposal was exchanged during All-Star week, but commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer outlined the growing divide in separate news conferences in Philadelphia.
Manfred said the owners were more unified than at any point during his time in baseball. Meyer rejected the league’s argument that MLB needed a cap to preserve competitive balance, pointing instead to rising attendance, television audiences and franchise values.
Their comments made clear that the cap was not one of several secondary issues. It had become the central fight.
July 1: Union proposes roster and data protections
The MLBPA proposed expanding active rosters from 26 to 28 players for the first 15 days of the regular season, with a 14-pitcher maximum.
The union also sought to:
- Reduce optional assignments from five per season to three
- Allow teams to use the 60-day injured list before the tender deadline
- Accelerate Rule 5 eligibility and ensure the draft is held every year
- Protect the salary and service time of pitchers optioned around the All-Star break or after lengthy appearances
- Give players access to non-proprietary performance data and video collected by their clubs
Those protections would affect how the Phillies handle prospects and pitchers moving between Philadelphia and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
June 25: MLB proposes limits on free-agent contracts
MLB added proposed restrictions on individual contracts to its cap-and-floor framework.
A player signing with a new organization could receive no more than five free-agent years, with his first-year salary limited to 15 percent of the cap. A player remaining with his current club could receive six years and 16 percent under a proposed “cornerstone player” provision.
Based on MLB’s original cap figure, the maximum guarantees would have been approximately $202 million over five years with a new team or $265 million over six years with the incumbent club. Annual salaries could increase by no more than 5 percent, and new deferred contracts would be prohibited.
MLB also accepted elements of the union’s opening proposal, including earlier free agency for certain players and the elimination of the current qualifying-offer system.
The Phillies recently declined to extend Alec Bohm the $23.15 million qualifying offer. Under MLB’s proposal, that mechanism and the accompanying draft-pick penalties would no longer exist.
The MLBPA responded that the potential gains were tied to accepting a cap and accompanying contract restrictions. Existing contracts would not be changed, but future deals resembling those signed by Harper and Turner would no longer be possible under the league’s proposal.
June 18: MLB proposes separate domestic and international drafts
MLB proposed separate 12-round domestic and international drafts, each beginning with a $200 million signing-bonus pool. Both would use hard-slot bonuses, although teams could trade selections under certain restrictions.
Under the domestic proposal, high school and junior-college players younger than 20 would no longer be draft eligible. The international signing age would rise from 17 to 18.
The MLBPA opposed the plan, estimating that it would remove more than $1 billion from amateur compensation over five years, including a $400 million reduction from 2026 to 2027. The union also objected to eliminating an entire international signing period during the transition.
May 28: MLB makes its initial cap-and-floor proposal
One day after the union presented its opening economic package, MLB proposed a seven-year agreement running through 2033.
The original plan included a $245.3 million cap and $171.2 million floor beginning in 2027. MLB said 12 clubs would have to add $617 million in combined payroll, while eight clubs — including the Phillies — would have to remove $578 million.
The cap would be calculated using luxury-tax payrolls, which include player benefits in addition to contract average annual values. MLB also proposed sharing defined baseball revenue equally with players and centralizing media revenue.
The union opposed the offer, arguing that MLB’s definitions of revenue and expenses would reduce the players’ existing share despite the advertised 50-50 split.
The Nov. 3 proposal superseded the original cap and floor amounts but retained the basic structure.
May 27: Players present their opening economic proposal
The MLBPA opened formal economic bargaining without proposing a hard cap.
Its plan included:
- Raising the major-league minimum from $780,000 to $1.5 million in 2027
- Increasing the base luxury-tax threshold from $244 million to $300 million
- Expanding salary-arbitration eligibility and guaranteeing arbitration salaries
- Increasing the pre-arbitration bonus pool from $50 million to $180 million
- Allowing qualified free agency after five seasons for players who have reached age 30
- Eliminating the qualifying offer for traditional free agents
- Creating a “competitive integrity tax” for clubs that remain below payroll benchmarks
- Guaranteeing each small-market club at least $240 million in annual revenue
- Requiring revenue-sharing recipients to use those funds toward improving their teams
MLB responded that the proposal would weaken competitive-balance protections and increase the spending gap between clubs. The union maintained that its plan would preserve the sport’s open market while penalizing organizations that collect shared revenue without investing in their rosters.
May 12: Formal negotiations begin
MLB and the MLBPA formally opened negotiations more than six months before the current agreement’s expiration.
The early start has not produced agreement on the largest issue. MLB continues to condition many of its proposals on the installation of a cap and floor. The union continues to treat a cap as a nonstarter.
Unless that changes before Dec. 1, the Phillies’ offseason could be paused before their roster is complete.
