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It hasn’t officially been announced by Major League Baseball, but multiple reporters have sent out a tweet noting that MLB Spring Training won’t begin until March 5 at the earliest. Here’s one:
MLB: “We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of Spring Training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5th."
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) February 18, 2022
More: "We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to each side. On Monday, members of the owners’ bargaining committee will join an in-person meeting with the PA and remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard towards starting the season on time.”
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) February 18, 2022
So, at the very least, Spring Training is being pushed back by one week, as originally MLB spring games were to commence on Saturday, February 26, including a Cubs game against the Dodgers at Sloan Park for that date.
That cancels the following eight Cubs spring games:
2/26, vs. Dodgers at Sloan Park
2/27, vs. Mariners at Peoria
2/28, vs. Diamondbacks at Scottsdale
3/1, vs. Rangers at Surprise and vs. Giants at Sloan Park
3/2, vs. Angels at Sloan Park
3/3, vs. Padres at Peoria
3/4, vs. A’s at Sloan Park
If the spring season does begin March 5, the Cubs will be facing the Brewers at their ballpark in the Maryvale section of Phoenix, and the Sloan Park opener would be the following day, Sunday, March 6 against the Diamondbacks.
As noted, representatives of owners and players will be meeting every day next week to try to make an agreement so the 2022 season can begin on time. They’re definitely under time pressure now, so we’ll see how that goes.
As always, we await developments.