PALM BEACH, Fla. — With pitchers and catchers ready to report to spring training, MLB owners are reconvening to discuss a variety of topics, including labor and media, at their final owners’ meetings, which begin Tuesday and continue through Thursday.
The majority of MLB teams have found a at home for their local broadcasts in 2026, with the Braves and Angels considering the idea of create their own regional sports networks. The Cardinals, Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Royals and Tigers joined the MLB TV teamwhich makes 13 teams in total that have agreements with the league for production and distribution (D-backs, Guardians, Mariners, Nationals, Padres, Twins). Many of these teams have opted for reach over revenue, at least in the short term, a stark contrast to the two-time defending champion Dodgers, who earn an average of $334 million a year from their ironclad deal with Charter through 2038. Having MLB control all local rights by 2028, when all national rights are in effect, seems like a tall order given the lucrative RSN deals held by a few big-market teams.
It will also be the first meetings since the Dodgers added LF Kyle Tucker on a four-year, $240 million contract, pushing the team beyond the $2 billion in guaranteed player salaries and further widening the gap between the haves and have-nots. At the final owners’ meetings in November, the MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league and union were in the first stages of informal conversationswith the possibility of a salary cap battle and lockout looming in less than a year.
Other topics of interest include Padres sale status (with the possibility of setting a new benchmark for a team transaction), the future of Rays stadium/mixed-use proposal in Tampathe Royals trying to find a location for their next baseball stadiumand an update on the Construction of A’s Ballpark in Las Vegas. MLB will also look to build on the momentum from last year’s scintillating postseason with the World Baseball Classic March 5-17.
