Start of Blue Jays season could be delayed a whole month

The Toronto Blue Jays 2022 season could be delayed for a month or more due to the realities of the MLB’s work stoppage.

In an MLB-led lockout that began last December, players and owners have been in on-and-off discussions as the MLB and MLB Players Association are in search of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The issues on the table include discussing and improving the payment structures for younger and minor league players, as well as the structure of the league’s collective bargaining tax, more commonly known as a luxury tax.

The MLB ownership group had implemented February 28 as a self-imposed deadline for delaying the start of the league’s regular season, with the latest reports seeming to indicate that no agreement will be reached before the end of today.

“It’s a horrendous day for the sport,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan said on air earlier today. “A lot of people are to blame for this… it’s really a disastrous outcome.”

Passan added on Twitter that the MLB stated they are “willing to cancel a month’s worth of games,” though it’s unclear if that’s an empty threat.

The Blue Jays were scheduled to open their season on March 31 against the Baltimore Orioles, but it seems like that is in jeopardy.

MLB’s most recent CBA-related stoppage came in the 1995 season, when players played 144 games (instead of the usual 162) after pulling the plug on the 1994 season in mid-August due to labour struggles.

“The players are more united than they have been since the 1994 strike,” Passan added. “They feel like the offers that the league is putting on the table right now simply aren’t good enough. Frankly, if you look at the offers, they’re not.”

The Blue Jays are coming off a 91-71 season where they finished fourth in the AL East, missing the playoffs by just one game.

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