MLB and the players’ association have essentially gone the distance, as the current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday. If a new CBA is not agreed upon, it will halt all baseball activities.
The threat of a potential lockout was thought to be inhibiting free agency and other offseason transactions thus far. Beyond the deadline to get a new CBA in place, the next important date on the MLB calendar is Friday, when clubs must make decisions on whether to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.
The annual Winter Meetings are scheduled to begin days after.