Here is a remarkable quote from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, made after the conclusion of the owners meetings Thursday in Chicago:
Rob Manfred: "An offseason lockout that moves the process forward is different than a labor dispute that costs games."
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) November 18, 2021
Manfred, essentially, said the quiet part out loud. At face value, the statement is absolutely correct. Lockouts are different than “labor dispute(s) that cost games” — the latter, of course, referring to a player strike.
What Manfred is saying here is that owners want to control the process of negotiating a new labor agreement.