No Regular-Season Start Date In Sight For Rays, Marlins As MLB Lockout Continues

FLORIDA — Rays' fans and Marlins' fans will not get to enjoy Opening Day March 31, along with the rest of Major League Baseball, after the players and owners failed to reach a compromise over salary negotiations by Tuesday's 5 p.m. deadline.

The lockout extends into month four. Rob Manfred, MLB commissioner, said at a press conference in Jupiter that the first two series of regular-season games are canceled.

The Rays were scheduled to play the Boston Red Sox, and the Marlins were going to play the Atlanta Braves on March 31. The second series would have been the Rays playing the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Marlins playing the Texas Rangers.

The canceled games are not expected to be rescheduled, and regular-season games will not begin before April 8. Prior to an agreement being reached, it is unknown how many games will be missed.

The scenario is similar to a shortened season 27 years ago when MLB games continued without an agreement. Players went on strike in August 1994, canceling the last 50 games of the regular season and post-season, because of labor disputes between the players and team owners. Before the 1994-1995 season, a strike occurred in 1981.

During the most recent MLB and Players Association meeting, "the sides ended up tens of millions of dollars apart on everything from the collective bargaining tax threshold (which MLB proposed be at $220 million next year, while the union was at $238 million) to the size of a new bonus pool that would reward players too young for arbitration for high performance (MLB proposed $25 million and the union $85 million)," the Washington Post reported.

A primary goal of the Players Association is to see younger players' salaries raised. MLB said it offered to raise the minimum salary to $700,000, an increase of $130,000 from 2021, according to Manfred. The players rejected the offer.

The Players Association said in a news release, "What Rob Manfred characterized as a 'defensive lockout' is, in fact, the culmination of a decades-long attempt by owners to break our player fraternity. As in the past, this effort will fail. We are united and committed to negotiating a fair deal that will improve the sport for players, fans and everyone who loves our game."

Former Rays player Evan Longoria tweeted, "Watching @MLBNetwork now...wow, wow. I’d just like one thing. If times are so tough for these clubs financially over the last 5 years…show us the financials. Be transparent. I guess we will see ya when we see ya fans."

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Miami Marlins have not released comments so far.

The earliest possible games for the Rays would be April 8 facing the Baltimore Orioles for the Rays' home opener. For the Marlins, it would also be April 8 playing the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.