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Report: MLBPA counteroffer ditches age-based free agency

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The Major League Baseball Players Association dropped a proposal for age-based free agency after returning to the negotiating table with representatives from Major League Baseball on Monday, a source told Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

The MLBPA's concession means that, whenever the union and league ultimately reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, players are unlikely to become free agents until they have six years of service time. That would be unchanged from the old CBA.

The union also reportedly altered its plan for revenue sharing between clubs but rejected almost everything MLB proposed in the last meeting between the two sides. Specifically, the MLBPA is willing to drop the revenue-sharing transfer from $100 million to $30 million, a source told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Monday's in-person session in New York City lasted a few hours and included Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort, the chair of the league's labor committee, according to James Wagner of The New York Times.

The league and MLBPA are scheduled to meet again Tuesday, and MLB plans to make a proposal, Drellich reports.

Two significant issues that remain are revenue sharing and arbitration. The union reportedly hasn't budged on its stance from November that major leaguers should reach arbitration after two years.

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