TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Major League Baseball has announced that spring training games will be postponed until March 5th.
The decision comes as an ongoing labor dispute continues between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Major League Baseball said in a statement obtained by WFLA:
“We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of Spring Training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5th. All 30 Clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands. The Clubs have adopted a uniform policy that provides an option for full refunds for fans who have purchased tickets from the Clubs to any Spring Training games that are not taking place. We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to each side. On Monday, members of the owners’ bargaining committee will join an in-person meeting with the Players Association and remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard towards starting the season on time.”
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the league will start meeting with the MLB Players Association on Monday as collective-bargaining negotiations start to ramp up.
Spring training was to have started this week, and the exhibition schedule had been set to begin on Feb. 26.
The sides have about two weeks left to reach a deal that would allow sufficient spring training ahead of an on-time opening day.
