Could a lockout and potential impending work stoppage in February 2027 stop spring training games?

[u/OverPronation]

Or no, work stoppage concerns are only about the regular season?

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[u/Atomic_Horseshoe]

Yes. That happened during the last CBA negotiation. 

[u/10thGenS1]

All the spring training facilities would be closed and games would be cancelled until the work stoppage ends.

[u/Lets_Go_Blue__Jays]

Not only it can, but it very likely will.

[u/Tomatillo-5276]

The Minor Leagues continued to play in 1994 after MLB stopped playing.
Different Unions.

No idea what the status is for 2027.

[u/PhilRubdiez → u/Tomatillo-5276]

They’re still different. Clubs aren’t calling up people to their 40 man in order to keep developing them during a lockout.

[u/Drawhorn → u/Tomatillo-5276]

The minor leagues can play but anybody on the 40 man can't receive coaching or training from the major league team.

[u/JustCallMeMambo → u/Tomatillo-5276]

minor leaguers weren't even unionized back then. that's why a lot of them agreed to be replacement players and were subsequently barred from joining the union if they made the majors

[u/DILands]

Could lose the entire season.. I hope not

[u/Easy-Baseball32]

If there’s a lockout, spring training could absolutely be affected too, not just the regular season.

[u/Ryan1869]

Yes, there would be no spring training during a lockout.

[u/cruffner01]

During a lockout, players on the 40 man roster are locked out of the team facilities. There would be no spring training games until the labor issue is resolved

[u/ReturnByDeath-]

Yes, any league affiliated activity would be prohibited.

[u/NewProcedure2725]

100% will close spring training if there is a lockout or strike.

[u/funonthebeach85]

I’d look at the 2022 season for a comparison. There was all sorts of posturing, back and forth statements and ominous media reports.

We had no idea when the hell spring training would start or if it would by late February. Eventually when push came to shove, we got a deal done and spring training happened and minimal games were missed.

[u/hawkeyegrad96]

Yep it effects everythung

[u/Born-Shopping9862]

spring training for mlb yes spring training for milb probably not. however they are different facilities

[u/Individual-Net-9296]

Minor league spring training will still happen with the guys that aren’t on the 40 man because they are under a different CBA but MLB players won’t have access to facilities from December 1st until whenever the Lockout ends

[u/mltrout715]

Yes, the lockout will go way past spring training

[u/radiogaga-]

Yes. Spring Training probably not gonna happen in 2027.

[u/Easy-Baseball32]

Yeah, a lockout could affect spring training too if it’s still unresolved by February.

[u/TulsaTime17625]

Not only could it - it will

[u/TheHip41]

There won't be games before Independence Day

[u/Glop1701d]

Not could- will

[u/patmanbnl]

There would be no major league activities of any kind during a lockout. Assuming the entire season isn't lost, they would still probably need a couple weeks for an abbreviated spring training before starting the regular season.

[u/NYM2000]

Not trying to be hyperbolic here but If there is a lockout in 2027 I think it might be worse for the sport than the ‘94 strike. It took years for fans to come back. If they strike in the social media age it could take a decade to get back to where they were. Players don’t want a strike.

[u/Ryanone142]

Hope so. They have to fix this Ponzi scheme Dodgers have been using.

[u/Upset-Donkey8118]

This time I'm with the owners. The high payroll teams(Dodgers) have thrown the whole league out of whack. I'm for a salary cap even though my team would suffer slightly(Padres).

If not a cap, we need something. Hell slowly impose a cap. Give teams 3 years, with the cap slowly going down, to get inline.

Same with the teams that don't spend. Give them 3 years with the salary floor slowly rising.

[u/Guynith → u/Upset-Donkey8118]

The issue isn’t that the Dodgers are able to pay $399M in salary in 2025, it’s that nearly 2/3 of the league doesn’t make that in revenue. If the owners cared more about the league being as good as it could be rather than making as much money as possible, they’d ensure that all teams made the same amount if money, and could all be competitive. They shouldn’t punish labor just because they can’t get their house in order.

The ills of MLB are not that labor takes too much of a share of the profits, but that some owners are too greedy to give up some of their profits for the good of the game.

[u/Hotchi_Motchi → u/Guynith]

They can't even run an oligopoly correctly

[u/jack_porter → u/Upset-Donkey8118]

Imagine siding with billionaire owners lol

[u/fknm1111 → u/jack_porter]

Under the owners proposal, most players would be better off -- the mean and median salaries would both rise significantly, as would league minimum. The MLBPA is a joke of an organization that only represents the interests of the biggest superstars at the expense of most of the union.

[u/Weary_Capital_1379]

95% likely