Morning Mound Visit: A $220 million CBT is too much for four owners

It’s almost funny that there was any kind of optimism that a deal would get done on Sunday. According to a report from The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, the owner’s offer of increasing the competitive balance tax by $10 million was too much for the owners of the Tigers, Reds, Angels, and Diamondbacks. Remember: the CBT hasn’t risen with league revenue and most teams don’t come anywhere close to the soft salary cap.

For a new CBA to be ratified, 23 of the 30 owners will need to vote yes on it, so a small, stingy contingent could block a deal whenever an agreement is reached. On Twitter, Eugene Freedman pointed out that Rob Manfred “may be begging for a mediator because he cannot unite his side.”

He also went on to add that “MLB leaks all of its things on purpose,” and that this might be posturing by the owners. This could be an effort to get the players to take a worse deal because of the appearance that the owners won’t budge.

Marc Normandin | Baseball Prospectus: One reason that this lockout could go on for a while longer is that both sides have something to gain by not caving. If the owners don’t just wait the 25 games before they have to start issuing rebates to broadcast networks, they could potentially break the union, a feat that would prove lucrative for them in the future. Of course, if the players drag it out, they can recoup some of the losses they incurred from the previous CBAs.

Matthew LaMar | Royals Review: The phrase “millionaires vs. billionaires” is silly for a lot of reasons, but here’s a visual aid to help tell the difference between an owner’s wealth and the wealth of a player with a decent career.