Mike Trout on MLB CBA Negotiations, Lockout: ‘We Owe It to the Next Generation’

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout has weighed in on the Major League Baseball lockout and negotiations about the collective bargaining agreement. 

In a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, Trout said the MLBPA owes “it to the next generation” of players to make sure the union gets this CBA right. 

Trout’s statement came one day after MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the league was canceling the first two series of the regular season. 

Despite nine straight days of meetings between the owners and union, the two sides have been unable to find a middle ground on a new CBA. MLB issued a self-imposed 5 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday for the negotiations. 

Among the major sticking points to be ironed out are the pre-arbitration bonus pool for players and the competitive balance tax threshold:

During his press conference Tuesday, Manfred cited MLB’s “payroll disparity problem” and the CBT as an important “mechanism” that is “designed to promote some semblance of competitive balance is just something that I don’t think the club group is prepared to do right now.”

CBS Sports’ Dayn Perry noted several teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians and Miami Marlins, “take in more in revenue sharing than they spend on payroll.”

Per Spotrac, those four teams ranked Nos. 26-29 in payroll spending last season. The Baltimore Orioles were last in that category with a payroll of $42.4 million. 

The owners implemented the lockout Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET. By canceling the first two regular-season series, this is the first time since 1995 that MLB will lose games because of a labor dispute.

The earliest start date for the regular season will now be April 6, though it is dependent on an agreement between the owners and union on a new CBA.