Baseball America: If There’s A MLB Lockout In 2022, What Happens To The Minors Leagues?

In the past, when MLB has either locked out the players or the players have struck, Minor League Baseball continued to play. The vast majority of minor league players are not members of the MLB Players Association, and there is no collective bargaining agreement in the minors—rules are simply decreed by MLB without any negotiations with the players.

So any work stoppage at the MLB level does not impact the minor leagues—with one big exception. Players on the MLB 40-man roster are part of the MLBPA, and as such are expected to honor a picket line (in case of a strike) or are part of the group that is locked out by owners….

The timing of the CBA expiration (Dec. 1) means that tendering contracts and 40-man roster protection decisions will likely occur as usual near the end of November. But if no new agreement has been reached by the current CBA’s expiration, it is likely that MLB free agency would be delayed until a new agreement is reached—the very structure of that free agency could change under a new agreement. It’s also possible that the Jan. 15 international signing period could be pushed back (especially if the rules for international amateur talent acquisition are changed as part of a new CBA).

But there is precedent for the Rule 5 draft to roll along, new CBA or no new CBA. In 1994, there was still a Rule 5 draft even though the owners and players were in the middle of a strike.