The Wall Street Journal: Major League Baseball tees up a possible lockout as contract talks end between owners and union

United States

Major League Baseball team owners and the players’ union ended talks Wednesday without striking a new collective bargaining agreement, setting the stage for the sport’s first work stoppage since the strike that resulted in the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. 

The current deal is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. ET, at which point management could initiate a lockout. Such an action would freeze all offseason transactions and raise questions about whether the dispute will disrupt the start of spring training in February or even opening day on March 31.