Major League Baseball season set to go ahead after new deal, report says

Opening day will now take place 7 April after 99-day lockout

Atlanta Braves minor leaguers are shown at spring training baseball camp in North Port, Fla., Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (AP)

The Major League Baseball season is set to go ahead after a new deal was reached between team owners and the players, a report says.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reached a new collective bargaining agreement that still needs to be ratified, according to ESPN.

The teams are still expected to play a full 162 game season, with opening day scheduled for 7 April, according to CBS Sports.

The league’s players voted to accept Major League Baseball’s new deal on Thursday, ending the 99-day lockout and salvaging the season.

The agreement will allow training camps to open this week in Florida and Arizona, more than three weeks later than was originally scheduled.

And the new opening day is just over a week behind the original opening day of 31 March.

The games that were missed will reportedly be made up on off days and by playing doubleheaders.

The new deal between the players and league will be in place for five years and ends the second-longest lockout in league history.

During the work stoppage, teams were not allowed to communicate with any of their own players and the players were banned from using team facilities to prepare for the season.

The new deal means that the sport’s free agency period can also take place, with more than 200 players unsigned, including stars such as Carlos Correa and Freddie Freeman.

The Atlanta Braves won the World Series in 2021, their first championship since 1995.