The latest round of collective bargaining between Major League Baseball and its players has unveiled a series of concrete proposals that could reshape the sport’s structure. Among the most notable is a call to cut the number of optional assignments to the minors from five to three each season, a move intended to reduce constant roster churn and give teams greater stability.
Simultaneously, the union is asking that active rosters be expanded to 28 players for the first fifteen days of every season, with a cap of fourteen pitchers. This temporary enlargement aims to ease the early‑season workload and provide greater flexibility for clubs during the initial stretch of games.
Injured List and Draft Timing
Another key demand involves opening the 60‑day injured list at the November tender deadline, a change that would protect more players from being exposed in the Rule 5 draft. The association also wants the league to accelerate eligibility for the Rule 5 draft and to ensure it proceeds this year, even if a lockout materializes.
Pitchers, in particular, are seeking a novel benefit: major‑league service time credit if they are optioned during the All‑Star break or after meeting specific performance thresholds. This provision is designed to reward high‑level performance while still allowing teams to manage workload.
Data Access and Competitive Equity
Players are also pushing for guaranteed access to non‑proprietary team performance metrics and video footage. Securing this data would give athletes a clearer picture of how their contributions are evaluated and could influence future contract negotiations.
On the financial front, owners have floated the idea of implementing a salary cap for the first time since the 1994‑95 strike. While details remain vague, the proposal signals a willingness to explore new mechanisms for controlling costs amid growing revenue pressures.
Negotiation Timeline and Lockout Outlook
A lockout is widely anticipated, but intense bargaining is not expected to resume until late February or early March 2027. That timing coincides with the point at which the risk of losing regular‑season games and associated revenue becomes too significant for both sides to ignore.