Major League Baseball on Thursday requested the immediate assistance of a federal mediator to help with the ongoing collective bargaining agreement between the league and the MLB Players Association.
The news was first reported by ESPN Insider Jeff Passan.
Both parties would need to agree to the appointment of a federal mediator, multiple reporters noted.
Eugene Freedman, a union lawyer and baseball labor relations expert, said on Twitter that “mediation can be very helpful to move the parties toward and even to agreement if the parties are motivated and the right mediator is involved.” Freedman then laid out the possible motives, pros and cons of MLB’s mediator request in a thread.
In 1994, president Bill Clinton appointed a federal mediator to assist negotiations between the players and the owners during their labor dispute. The players’ strike — the last MLB work stoppage — cost the sport the 1994 World Series, part of the 1995 season and millions of dollars in lost revenue.
More recently, a federal mediator was credited for “extraordinary contribution” to help end the 2013 National Hockey League lockout.
The league’s request comes as negotiations have stalled despite spring training rapidly approaching. MLB imposed a lockout of the players in December with a stated goal of accelerating CBA talks, but didn’t meet with the union for five weeks between a Dec. 1 session and Jan. 11.
As of their most recent negotiating session, the union and owners remain far apart on core economics of the sport, and the prospect of an on-time spring training appears dire.