If the rejected proposals Major League Baseball made two weeks ago were really a gambit to reveal the union’s priorities, the owners got that glimpse Monday and negotiations gained their first hint of pace, if not yet progress.
A small group of representatives from the players’ union, including Cardinals reliever Andrew Miller as the lone player, delivered a counterproposal to league officials during the first in-person discussions since Dec. 1, hours before the ongoing lockout began. The sides gathered Monday afternoon for close to two hours in Manhattan. As an opening the union withdrew its bid to reduce the time it takes to become a free agent from the longstanding six years of service time.