MLB Gets a Mixed-Bag Labor Agreement to Save the 2022 Season

The union deal that saved Major League Baseball in 2022 is in many ways a textbook example of labor-management compromise: Neither side won, neither side lost, and no one was completely happy.

As details of the collective bargaining agreement that ended a 99-day lockout emerged, it became clear that each side got some—but not all—of what it wanted. The players raised the starting salary from $570,500 to $780,000 by 2026, expanded a bonus pool for young players, and convinced the league to ease a competitive balance tax that they said amounted to a salary cap.

While the players didn’t accomplish ...