Is the MLB lockout nearing an end? The two sides have held secret meetings in the last few days, and there's some hope that a deal could be reached as soon as today.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses the latest with the MLB lockout. The league has created another artificial deadline, stating that if a deal is not reached by the end of Tuesday, it will cancel another round of games. It has also said that Tuesday is the deadline for paying players for a full season, and giving them a full year of service time. The league can't unilaterally make those calls, but it can take those positions in negotiations. The players can and will demand full pay and full years of service no matter how many games are ultimately missed.

In its latest reported offer, the league has increased the first CBT threshold to $228 million, up $8 million from its last reported offer of $220 million. Importantly, the players have been asking for a $238 million threshold in Year 1 of a new CBA, so $228 million is the midpoint. Ben says that it's not hard to see the sides bridging the gap on this issue as soon as today, given that the starting point seems about right. Still, the owners are only proposing increasing the CBT by $10 million over the life of a five-year agreement, while the players want it to grow from $238 million to $263 million over the five years. There's still a ways to go for an agreement on this front, but it seems more feasible than ever. Ben also discusses the $50 million gap between the two sides on the new pre-arbitration bonus pool. The league wants it to start and end at $30 million; the players want it to start at $80 million and increase by $5 million a year. This may have just become a more significant obstacle than the CBT.

Finally, Ben continues his look across the NL West, today comparing the various lineups. He ranks the San Francisco Giants third, behind the Dodgers and Padres. The Dodgers continue to have a ridiculously talented roster, and Ben quite likes the top four in the Padres' order. However, he points out the the Giants have the depth to potentially over-perform projections and expectations again. He thinks that the holes left by Buster Posey's retirement and Kris Bryant's free agency are sizable enough to rank them third, but a big right-handed acquisition after the lockout ends could change the calculus.

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