Will there be a lockout? Salary cap? MLB CBA battle FAQ - ESPN

The 2026 MLB season ended on a high note, with the Milwaukee Brewers celebrating the first World Series title in franchise history.

Now, though, the sport enters the offseason under a dark cloud. With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1 and no sign of a new labor agreement between the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association, a lockout appears to be imminent.

As we get set for another drawn-out battle, who are the key names we need to know from both MLB and the MLBPA? Is a salary cap coming to baseball? What does a lockout mean for free agency? Next season? ESPN MLB experts Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez, Buster Olney, Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers break down the topics that will shape the future of the sport.

On Tuesday, MLB proposed postponing the implementation of a salary cap until the 2028 season, while still putting into place the other elements of its labor offer for 2027, citing the difficulty of teams navigating free agency amid the current uncertainty.

In its proposal, MLB also set new numbers for its proposed cap and floor in 2028. The cap would be $258.2 million while the floor would be $180.2 million. In its previous proposal, the league had offered a $245.3 million ceiling and $171.2 million floor. — Passan

It's the day the current collective bargaining agreement between the players and owners expires. Technically, it runs out at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. If, as expected, the sides haven't agreed to a new CBA before then, one of two things can happen:

First, the owners and players could keep negotiating for a new agreement while the business of the sport operates under the rules of the old CBA (which is how the WNBA ran for a while during its recent labor