Ken Rosenthal reports that Major League Baseball and the player’s union are close to a deal on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, with the two sides reaching a near-agreement on draft related issues, which have been the biggest hurdle so far.
Rosenthal mentions that a deal might come today or tomorrow, although he adds that there are still some other issues which could push the deal to later in the week. Either way, it sounds like a deal will be completed soon.
Rosenthal did have this quote, which doesn’t sound good for the Pirates:
The new deal is expected to include significant restraints on the amount of money teams spend on draft picks, and significant changes in draft-pick compensation for free agents.
The first part is obviously bad, as it will limit the Pirates in their over-slot spending, which is one of the only areas where they can get potential impact players. The Pirates are also expected to receive a compensation pick for Ryan Doumit, and might see at least two picks total in the 2012 draft. It would be disappointing if those picks disappeared.