Monday Newsletter time: Players weren't pleased (again) with owners' latest CBA offer, but ball moved slightly forward

A union response is expected this week, and it can't be a step backward for the sake of starting the regular season on time.

Feb 14

This is the only good photo of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and union chief Tony Clark, and it was taken by a reporter (The Associated Press/Ron Blum).

The buzzword after the Saturday meeting between owners and players geared toward moving toward a new collective bargaining agreement was “unimpressed.”

The players weren’t overwhelmed by the latest economic proposal crafted by the owners amid the ongoing lockout.

Frankly, I’m unimpressed that whoever was responding to media requests didn’t mix up his adjectives. Multiple reporters were fed “unimpressed” and used it over and over and over.

Also, I recognize that this is a negotiation and that the players want far more than what the owners offered, but owners did make concessions and have room to make more.

There’s still work to do and spring training will not start on time, which is just a little more torture for the Texas Rangers as they are forced to continue to wait to play with new toys Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jon Gray and Kole Calhoun.

The belief is that March 1 is the deadline for the regular season to begin on time March 31.

The negotiating ball is now with the union, which is expected to counter at some point this week. The players need to reciprocate by moving closer toward their arch enemies.

That’s how this works.

So, what did the owners offer? They submitted two plans for raising minimum salaries and offered a slight bump in luxury-tax thresholds. They also proposed that teams be awarded for not manipulating a player’s service-time clock, and a rule that would put a cap on the number of times a player can be optioned during a season.

That cap could create more opportunities for players to be added to the 40-man roster.

The offer might not have been much progress, but it was progress.

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Frisco to honor Negro Leagues

The fine people with the Frisco RoughRiders announced last week plans to honor the Negro Leagues by playing three games in 2022 as the Dallas Black Giants.

The Black Giants, whose alumni include Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, played in the area in the early- to mid-1900s. Frisco, the Rangers’ Double A affiliate, will play as the Black Giants on June 19, which is the Juneteenth holiday, as well as Aug. 14 and Sept. 7.

Tickets are now available.

Frisco RoughRiders @RidersBaseball

Taking the field during the 2022 season: the Dallas Black Giants. We are elated to announce an alternate moniker for the 2022 season paying tribute to the barnstorming Negro Leagues team. Tickets ≫ atmilb.com/3JgsIXx View full release ≫ atmilb.com/3HXzYaF

Frisco president/general manager Victor Rojas is from Kansas City, which is home to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. He has gained a wealth of knowledge about the Negro Leagues and wanted to share it via the RoughRiders.

“I wanted the RoughRiders to be a part of the storytelling in some fashion ... to share the history of the game of baseball with those in and around our community, especially history that may not be widely known,” Rojas said in a press release.

Museum president Bob Kendrick will be the RoughRiders’ guest for the June 19 game.

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