Major League Baseball may be barreling toward another work stoppage as early as 2026, with labor tensions mounting over a familiar battleground: the salary cap. According to The Athletic’s Andy McCollough, “a work stoppage is very likely” next year due to the wild spending of teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
According to MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark, players are already bracing for a lockout once the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires in December 2026.
“Unless I am mistaken, the league has come out and said there’s going to be a work stoppage,” Clark said in March at Giants spring training camp, referencing recent comments by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. “So, I don’t think I’m speaking out of school in that regard.”
Los Angeles Dodgers Spending Pushing MLB To Salary Cap
Fueling the conflict is growing frustration among MLB’s 30 owners—particularly those frustrated by aggressive spending from top-tier teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets. Los Angeles handed out over a billion dollars in deferrals in the past year alone, while New York shattered salary records under Steve Cohen. But McCullough says it’s not just the big spenders drawing scrutiny.
“You could argue the problem is the Dodgers spending a billion dollars,” McCullough said. “Or is it because nine teams are not giving out multi-year deals? I think both things are true.”
The league’s wealthiest clubs have reignited calls for a hard salary cap, something the MLBPA fiercely opposes. “From the Baseball Players Association’s perspective, their defining achievement is not allowing there to be a salary cap,” McCullough noted.
Manfred, meanwhile, controversially labeled lockouts as “actually a positive,” claiming they provide bargaining leverage. Clark dismissed the idea as a “weapon, plain and simple.”
With negotiations already heating up nearly two years before the CBA expires, MLB appears to be on a collision course for another contentious—and possibly prolonged—labor dispute. Fans hoping for stability may need to brace for impact.