Initial proposals in MLB labor negotiations leave players, owners far apart. That’s no surprise this early.

The opening salvo of what appears destined to be a lengthy battle between major league players and owners came this week, and as expected, the two sides of a labor disagreement that will shake the sport this winter are far apart.

Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in December, and the key sticking point between union leadership and ownership revolves around the introduction of a salary cap.

In its opening round of demands, MLB proposed a salary cap and a salary floor in a bid to address competitive balance concerns among teams. The last time the league proposed implementing a salary cap, it led to a work stoppage and the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.

The Major League Baseball Players Association, meanwhile, proposed a salary floor built around a “competitive integrity tax” for teams that fall below a threshold, while also proposing increased salaries for younger players.

The differences are vast. That’s no surprise.

“I know where we stand as baseball players, and I know where the owners stand,” Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin said. “It’s going to be a long conversation, long negotiation process, for both sides to get closer to what they want.”

Baltimore pitcher Andrew Kittredge added: “It’s the opening round. I think both sides are going to shoot for the moon at the beginning, and then hopefully something works out for both sides at the end. Not really shocked by anything I heard. But salary cap, on our side, as you said, seems like a nonstarter at this point.”

The public releases from MLB and MLBPA outlined key differences. Beginning with MLBPA, these are some of the significant parts of its first proposal, according to ESPN and other outlets:

• An increased major league minimum salary, from $780,000 to $1.5 million
• For players in arbitration, the minimum salary would be $3 million
• Free agency for players who have reached age 30 after five or more years of service time, as opposed to the standard six years
• Increased revenue sharing to aid small-market teams, with a minimum of $240 million in revenue per year
• A soft salary floor of $150 million, penalized by the competitive integrity tax

The MLB proposal, which arrived Thursday, also features revenue sharing at a 50-50 split and centralized television revenue. Other highlights from the MLB proposal:

• Salary cap of $245.3 million; salary floor of $171.2 million
• Centralized television revenue
• A seven-year labor agreement, up from five years
• 50-50 baseball-related revenue split

The Orioles have several veteran players who dealt with the lockout of 2021-22, which ended in March. Opening day was pushed back, but the full 162-game schedule was saved. The negotiations this time may be trickier.

Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt, a member of the MLBPA executive subcommittee, said a major hurdle revolves around what he calls “adjusting” the system versus blowing it up. In his eyes, MLB wants to change the system entirely with the introduction of a salary cap.

“The system is fine. The system is made the way it has been forever because this is the fairest system,” he said. “Is it the fairest when it comes to teams and local geography and local revenue and all that? No, it’s not. But it’s not, ‘Let’s cap how much we can pay players to change the revenue disparity.’ I don’t think that’s the answer.”

Bassitt said the numbers behind a salary cap, which MLB proposed to be $245.3 million, don’t encourage more spending. The floor, which was proposed at $171.2 million (a number that includes benefits and amateur signing payments, according to USA Today), just moves the same amount of money around, Bassitt argued.

“The floor doesn’t do anything, because all you’re doing is taking money from the top and moving it to the bottom,” he said.

Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas, who was an MLBPA rep with the Cardinals, wants both sides to “cut all the drama” and meet in the middle. He wants to avoid the pitfalls that will come with an altered 2027 season. But he agreed that the union shouldn’t relent in avoiding the implementation of a cap.

“Regardless of what a cap and a floor looks like, I think that there’s no room for it in Major League Baseball,” he said. “That’s one of the things about the union, we’re not even really going to discuss it. I’m sure [owners] will talk about a floor and a cap, and that’s communism. Where’s the free market economy? Where’s capitalism at its best, right?”

Mikolas said there shouldn’t be a limit on owners’ spending. He vehemently disagreed with the principle of a cap and restricting players’ earning potential.

Veteran starter Zack Littell said the transparent conversations were good for both sides but that a cap system is bad for the sport as franchise valuations soar and would only benefit the owners. The San Diego Padres recently sold for $3.9 billion, a record for a major league franchise. The team sold for $800 million in 2012.

During an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Commissioner Rob Manfred highlighted the payroll gap between one of the league’s top spenders, the Dodgers ($300.5 million payroll, per Spotrac) and the club with the lowest payroll, the Marlins ($78.8 million). “That’s not a fair fight,” he said, and it hurts the sport’s competitive balance.

Littell said that’s the only angle the owners can take to get the public on their side.

“There’s no evidence behind any of that in any other league,” Littell said. “[A salary-cap system] continues to put players against players. It’s taken away guaranteed money from players in other sports. The superstars continue to get paid, while the bottom guys don’t. Baseball historically has really made sure that, top to bottom, everyone is compensated for the value they bring to the system.”

In a statement to The Athletic, MLBPA interim director Bruce Meyer said the “last time owners made such an explicit push for a cap,” which occurred during the 1994-95 strike, “it led to the longest work stoppage in MLB history.”

That strike lasted 232 days.

Eflin and others who experienced the relatively short strike before the 2022 season are hoping a repeat isn’t on the horizon.

“You start in polar opposite corners and you ask for things that are not realistic, and that can go for both sides,” Eflin said. “You have to start negotiations somewhere. I guess all we can do is hope and pray this doesn’t drag on and we come to an agreement, meet in the middle somewhere. I don’t think anyone wants to miss games. We love this game; we love this sport; we love playing it. It would be a shame if it happened the way it did last time. But all the players are on the same page and we’re ready for whatever comes.”