President Donald Trump shared his thoughts on the potential for the MLB to face a lockout from the players before the start of next season.
The MLB’s current CBA will expire on December 1, 2026, and the inking of a new one in time for the start of the 2027 season seems challenging, with the problems that were pushed down the road during the 2021-22 lockout resurfacing, with many new issues on the plate as well.
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President Trump is not looking forward to a potential lockout in the MLB and has revealed how his approach to solving the situation would be.
In an interview with Clay Travis at the Texas vs. Tennessee game, Trump shared his thoughts on the potential MLB lockout and how his experience as a conflict mediator might help the league.
“I would do it if it was appropriate. I would certainly do it if I could… Baseball looks like it could have a strike. If it does, it would be too bad. It is tremendous; if you look at sports, it seems the baseball players and owners do the least well. They’re gonna work it out the same way as they do in all other sports. But if I could help, I’d love to help.”
Legally, the President can’t force either side to do anything.
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While the President has been able to use some legal measures against workers’ strikes in the past, they serve as temporary tools to intervene in industries like ports and steel, which could hurt the nation.
The MLB is a billion-dollar privately run league, so the President really cannot exert any direct influence on their CBA negotiations.
However, President Trump could make public recommendations, with his support staff potentially being used as mediators between the players and the owners if need be.
The MLB faced a lockout in 2021-22, with this delaying the start of the 2022 regular season although the resolution came in a timely enough way to ensure the full 162-game schedule was fulfilled.
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The main issue in 2026 is a potential hard salary cap that the owners are pushing for and the players are pushing against.
The MLB has the softest salary cap among the top sports leagues, which has allowed teams like the LA Dodgers to create a superteam that might complete the MLB’s first-ever three-peat.
The players have plenty of other demands, such as a salary floor to force cheap owners to meet a minimum-spending limit, as well as other financial advantages. However, the owners are unlikely to give any concessions unless the salary cap is agreed to, something the players are vehemently against.
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