The MLB labor fight is officially underway. Representatives from the commissioner’s office and the Players Association met Tuesday in New York City for the first time to begin what figures to be a long, ugly road to a new collective bargaining agreement, and the early signals aren’t exactly encouraging.
CBA Talks Begin, But a 2027 Work Stoppage Threat Is Already on the Table
Evan Drellich at The Athletic has the full rundown on how Tuesday’s opening session went down, which, for now, was more about each side presenting their view of the sport than throwing formal proposals on the table. That comes later. And when it does, expect it to get loud fast.
The owners are coming with a salary cap and salary floor proposal, framed around competitive balance. The players have fought that battle before and have no interest in losing it now. If both sides dig in (and history says they will), the 2027 season is very much in play as a casualty. The current CBA expires December 1st, a lockout is the presumed next step if there’s no deal, and the optimistic scenario at this point is that they get something done before spring training is threatened.
Drellich’s piece is a worthwhile read for the full context on where things stand and what the next several months of this are likely to look like. Go check it out.
News: It has begun. Major League Baseball and the Players Association are holding their first collective bargaining meeting in New York today, making opening presentations ahead of what's expected to be a lengthy fight over a salary cap. t.co/V0ZPG72zKH
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) May 12, 2026Cubs Inching Toward the Top; White Sox Emerging from the Darkness?
The Chicago Cubs enter play today with a 3.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. Even after a series loss to the Texas Rangers, the Cubs are still sitting pretty atop their division, and checked in at No. 4 on the latest MLB Power Rankings at The Athletic. Only the Braves (with whom the Cubs open a series today), Yankees, and Dodgers are between the Cubs and the top spot.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (42) reacts against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn ImagesBut the surprising (delightful?) mover in this week’s power rankings is the other Chicago baseball team. The White Sox have jumped from No. 24 to No. 18, and this has to be the first time they’ve been in the teens in any such ranking in some time (years?). Here’s what The Athletic’s Zack Meisel wrote about the Sox:
“These aren’t your slightly older sibling’s White Sox. They survived the bleak summers, with 100 (or 121) losses and little hope. Some of the prospects they’ve been amassing have reached the majors and, in the case of Colson Montgomery, have thrived. Mix in a breakout season for Davis Martin in the rotation and a jaw-dropping start for Munetaka Murakami, and maybe this situation is as simple as a young team playing free and easy and not really knowing any better.
They sit right behind the Guardians at the top of the AL Central, even if this division is still below sea level. Who’s to say the White Sox can’t be a thorn in the side of most teams they face all season?”
Munetaka Murakami (5) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesSpeaking of Munetaka Murakami: He’s hit a home run in the opener of the last eight series. His home run on Friday against the Mariners in the lid-lifter of that series marked the first time any MLB player has ever hit a home run in eight consecutive series openers. Murakami’s 15 home runs this season are second-most, behind Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber’s 16.
The Cubs have a series with Atlanta this week, and the White Sox have a series with Kansas City, and then it’s time for this year’s first Crosstown Showdown between the two teams this weekend. I’m sure we’ll all be completely sane and level-headed this weekend.
Skubal’s Elbow, a Looming Lockout, and the Murkiest Free Agent Market in Years
Kiley McDaniel at ESPN took an early look at the 2026-27 free agent class this week, and the biggest name on the board already has a complication. Tarik Skubal (who was the consensus top free agent heading into this offseason) just had a third elbow procedure, and the industry is already recalibrating what his market looks like.
Before the surgery news broke, McDaniel ran a straw poll of executives, scouts, and agents on Skubal’s projected payday. The average came back at 7.7 years and $357 million, a number that would shatter both Max Scherzer’s AAV record and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s guaranteed money mark. Now? That ceiling is murkier. The durability questions are real, and sources told McDaniel the chances of Skubal returning to Detroit on a shorter deal with opt-outs are much higher than they were a month ago.
The labor situation throws another wrench into it all. With the CBA expiring December 1st and a lockout widely assumed to be coming, the pre-deadline spending window is going to matter, and Skubal’s camp may have more reason than most to let things play out rather than rush into a deal. McDaniel also names Freddy Peralta and Jazz Chisholm Jr. as the next-best cases among pending free agents if Skubal’s market stays complicated. His full breakdown at ESPN is worth the read for where this offseason is already headed.
I was polling sources on Tarik Skubal contract projections when news of his surgery broke.I pivoted to a free agency burning questions, led off by their answers & how his market has changed.Also: the other top FA targets, posting intrigue, Mets, Cubs! t.co/svoBLY4RAB
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) May 11, 2026Extra Innings
Another Mune mention:Munetaka Murakami leads the AL Rookie of the Year poll ? pic.twitter.com/AEkigxGq7L
— MLB (@MLB) May 12, 2026 ICYMI: Alek Thomas is staying in the NL West after being traded to the Dodgers.Former Can't Miss-Prospect Alek Thomas Trade to the Dodgers t.co/weAr8J6O50
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 12, 2026 Braves catcher Sean Murphy is heading back to the IL, this time with a fractured finger. Murphy was just reinstated from the IL just over a week ago after dealing with a hip injury.The #Braves today signed free agent C Sandy León to a major league contract and placed C Sean Murphy on the 10-day injured list, backdated to May 11, with a fractured left middle finger. Atlanta today also selected OF José Azócar to the major league roster after optioning INF Jim…
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 12, 2026 A lot of people have said a lot of things about Joe West, but David Ortiz waiting almost two decades to get back at West is pretty funny.David Ortiz waited for almost two decades to exact revenge on Joe West for calling him ugly. pic.twitter.com/P2RPBQwmi0
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 12, 2026Hence then, the article about mlbits cba talks begin power rankings kind to chicago ahead of crosstown series more was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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