This time, at least Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association hung around much longer than their last negotiation session, meeting off and on for about five hours Monday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., instead of just 15 minutes as they did last week in New York.
Still, once again, little progress was made.
Union officials said they were underwhelmed by MLB’s latest proposal, while an MLB official called it a wide-ranging, productive conversation on a number of issues, still hoping to make progress towards reaching an agreement.
MLB raised its pre-arbitration bonus pool by $5 million to $20 million Monday, still leaving a $95 million gap in proposals. It also increased its draft lottery proposal to the top four picks, instead of three from its last offer. The players are seeking a lottery for eight picks. There were no proposals regarding the luxury tax or minimum salaries.
The union is expected to submit a counter-offer Tuesday, with MLB saying it needs to reach a deal by Feb. 28 to avert a delay to the start of the season. Opening Day is scheduled for March 31.
If nothing else, there appeared to a sense of more urgency with union chief Tony Clark joining chief negotiator Bruce Meyer for the meetings for the first time, accompanied by 10 players.
Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort and vice chairman Ron Fowler of the San Diego Padres also attended the meetings, joining deputy commissioner Dan Halem and MLB’s negotiators.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB, players union meet for 5 hours, but find little common ground