With baseball’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1, the sport is staring at the possibility of an owner-imposed lockout that could throw the 2027 season into chaos. If that happens, the start of the year could be pushed back until July 4th or even later than usual.
Still, Yankees president Randy Levine said he expects the sides to find a way through it.
“It’s very, very early... They want to reach an agreement.
It’s always this way in every labor negotiation I’ve done. It’s always posturing at this point in time, getting your position out,” Levine, who was recently linked to becoming President Trump’s next White House Chief of Staff, said on “ The Craig Carton Show.
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“We have until December. I think they’re really going to work hard, and I’m very hopeful they’ll reach an agreement. I’ve seen circumstances where it looked harder than even this, and this one looks hard, but at the end of the day, I’m confident everyone wants to get a deal.”
Levine also framed the situation as one baseball can’t afford to mishandle after what he called a strong run for the sport.
“The whole playoffs have been great, the whole season has been great. Baseball is regaining popularity, it’s the national pastime, so we gotta work hard to just preserve it,” Levine added.
The lockout possibility may have also played into the Yankees’ decision to keep Aaron Boone as manager for next season. A new manager might not have been able to reach players after Dec. 1, which could have been a serious problem for team chemistry on a club already under scrutiny for accountability.
On the financial side, the Yankees carried the third-highest payroll in MLB this season, at $341 million after luxury taxes, trailing only the Mets and Dodgers.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner addressed the labor talks last week and said he “support[s]” the owners’ proposals, all of which include a [salary] cap.
“I’ve said before - let me put it this way, as a member of the labor policy committee - I helped craft, one of many, the proposals that we have given at the bargaining table,” he said. “And I support those proposals in their entirety. That’s absolutely the case, so that should answer your question.”
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