DENVER — As the Colorado Rockies get ready for their home opener at Coors Field on Friday, there’s a chance opening day in 2027 is delayed or even canceled.
That’s because Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires after this season on December 1.
There’s essentially one big question standing in the way of a new deal: Should baseball have a hard salary cap — like other major sports — to control how much a team can spend on its players?
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB team owners are pushing hard for a salary cap, and the idea of a salary floor as well, saying baseball needs it for better competitive balance.
Supporters of the idea point to teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who seemingly spend infinite money to build a super team, as well as other teams that seem to always avoid spending on marquee players.
But critics say a salary cap doesn’t guarantee better competitive balance. The MLB Players Association is strongly against the idea, saying it would only hurt player salaries and boost owners’ profits.
The salary cap debate has been around for decades in baseball. It’s part of the reason why players went on strike during the 1994 season and the World Series was canceled that year.
Longtime Denver sports journalist Woody Paige has been covering baseball for decades. He expects this time, the salary cap dispute will lead to the owners locking out the players, and baseball fans losing some games to start next season.
- Hear Denver7's Ryan Fish interview with Woody Paige in the video player below.
“I think that [a salary cap is] going to come to baseball, but it's going to take time,” Paige told Denver7. “And I think in order to get there, they're going to have to go through a real work stoppage for quite a while. But that's happening next year. So, enjoy this one.”
While there is seemingly a looming lockout hanging over the 2026 season, there are also still several months left for the two sides to try to bridge the gap in negotiations.
The Rockies, meanwhile, will look to start turning things around in 2026 after a 43-119 record in 2025.
