Levine: Owners Will Consider Lockout Of MLB Players

By Bruce Levine--

(CBS) Major League Baseball ownership will consider a vote on a lockout if a collective bargaining agreement with the players association isn't in place by Dec. 1.

The current collective bargaining agreement ends on that date. On Tuesday, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that a labor stoppage could go in place as soon as Dec. 2, which dovetailed with what I wrote in the second week of November at the GM meetings in Arizona -- that owners would seriously consider a lockout.

If a new deal isn't in place on Dec. 2, the two sides have options.

First, the union and ownership can continue under the rules in place from the prior agreement. This usually is a non-starter, due to the fact there's no urgency to get a new CBA hammered out. Under this type of negotiations, nothing further is assured to be accomplished.

Second, the owners can declare an impasse. They then have the right to lock the players out. You may ask what that accomplishes with no games being played in the offseason. No player movement via trade or free-agent signings or contract extensions of any sort would be allowed. Basically, the baseball industry comes to a halt.

Third, the players association has the same right to strike or declare an impasse and walk away from any bargaining.

The issues include a universal draft that owners want to install. This would force all countries to participate in an international draft of all players each year. As it is now, players outside of the United State, Canada and Puerto Rico can make deals with MLB teams as unrestricted free agents, and those deals are often costly for owners.

An international draft would save hundreds of millions that are being paid to these young players, predominantly in the Latin American countries (Japan and other Asian countries have a posting system in place).

Another issue is competitive balance taxes. This is a penalty for teams going over a standard amount of payroll. Currently, the system is a dollar penalty for every dollar spent over the $189 million payroll threshold. That figure, according to sources, will be raised to between $206 and $210 million going forward. The owners want a higher tax -- as much as $2 or $3 per dollar spent over the new ceiling. This would act as a harder cap in order to control free-market spending. The union has balked at this as repressing the growth of salaries.

Meanwhile, the union wants a restriction on teams "tanking" -- largely described as selling off all the big contracts and becoming more profitable while building with younger, inexpensive players. This approach leads to a small payroll for a certain time of rebuilding, while ticket sales drop but individual teams make more money while mostly being less competitive. (The MLB national TV and radio deals, combined with the Baseball Advanced Media money given to each club each season, is fast approaching $100 million per team each year.)

The owners are dangling a 26th man -- or 30 extra big-league jobs -- to the union. The trade-off would be September expanded rosters limited to 28 roster spots. Currently, the existing system allows anyone on the 40-man roster be added for the final month of the season. This new feature would save the owners from starting the major league service time for young players, which in turn slows down their ascension to salary arbitration and free agency.

The last work stoppage between the owners and the MLBPA began in August 1994 and lasted until April 2, 1995. The 1994 World Series was lost in the labor dispute. Now, 21 years of labor peace is being threatened, with just more than one week left before the agreement in place expires.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.