On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick details the state of the MLB lockout by reviewing an ESPN piece by Jeff Passan that explores the subject in great detail. Ben goes through the Passan article, using direct quotations to provide listeners with up-to-the-minute updates about what's happening (or not happening) between MLB and the MLB Players Association. The league locked out the players at midnight on Dec. 1, and a whole lot of nothing has happened since. But that doesn't mean Passan's update isn't jam-packed with important information.

Passan speaks with numerous sources to gather information about where we are and where we're headed. He compares the state of affairs to the "disastrous" negotiations about how to start the 2020 season after Covid-19 cancelled spring training. Although Commissioner Rob Manfred says those talks are irrelevant to the current negotiations, Passan (and Ben) disagree. They clearly demonstrate how toxic the relationship currently is between the parties.

Passan details what the players are looking for in a deal. Whether it's raising the CBT threshold, earlier free agency, earlier arbitration, raising the minimum salary, and a whole host of other desires, the players want fundamental change across the board, which doesn't bode well for the season starting on time. Passan says that the next step in the process appears to be that the players need to define their top priorities, because it's impractical to expect the league to meet all of their numerous demands.

In terms of key dates, Passan and his sources don't expect anything substantive to happen until at least late January/early February. After that, March 1 is a key date. If serious progress hasn't been made toward a deal by then, the start of the season will be in jeopardy. Given how the negotiations, or lack thereof, have gone so far, that seems like a more distinct possibility by the day.

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