The San Diego Padres, along with the rest of Major League Baseball, have been preparing for what appears to be an imminent lockout between the league's players and owners.

In fact, back in March, Jake Cronenworth — an eight-year member of the executive MLB Players Association subcommittee — said to the Times of San Diego that the league informed players they will lock them out this offseason.

MLB and MLBPA have until the current collective bargaining agreement's expiration date of Nov. 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET to push a new deal through.

As things currently stand, MLB most recently proposed a 50-50 revenue split towards the end of July, with updated terms in November dictating a salary cap of $258.2 million with a salary floor of $180.2 million. The Padres are one of eight teams in baseball who would have to shrink their spending with this new proposal, which added to the decision in the latest proposal of implementing the new system in 2028.

“We recognize that clubs will need a full offseason to prepare to operate within the cap and floor system,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said. “Therefore, with this offseason already underway, we proposed today to begin the cap and floor system in 2028.  This proposal would allow a smoother transition into the cap and floor system without delaying key player benefits, including earlier free agency, a $1 million minimum salary, a 30% increase to the pre-arbitration bonus pool, and transactional reform that will reduce roster churn.

“The projected salary cap and floor for 2028 continues to provide more money for Major League players while leveling the playing field and giving more teams the ability to participate in the free-agent market and retain their homegrown stars so that every fan believes their team has a fair chance to win it all.”

MLB is currently the only major sports league in North America without a salary cap, and the MLBPA appears to want to keep it that way. The updated terms of the proposal were rejected by the players soon after MLB made the offer.

“Coming off another incredible season of baseball, MLB owners continue to propose blowing up the current system and replacing it with one designed to line their pockets and increase their franchise values,” the MLBPA said in a statement. “Players stand ready to negotiate in good faith toward a new CBA that will capitalize on our sport's unprecedented momentum and benefit players, clubs, and fans alike.”

The cap and floor are only projections from MLB, and go off another point of contention for the two sides: how the revenue (which would supposedly be split evenly) is defined. Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors detailed why these numbers won't add up.

"Those cap/floor numbers would include annual contributions to the pre-arb bonus pool and benefits to players, meaning the actual cap/floor would be lower than those suggested figures," Adams wrote.

What Does the Impending Lockout Mean for the Padres?

The Padres are one of the affected teams under the new proposal, but according to their 2026 spending, they would only have to decrease spending by $8 million. This is great news for a team always looking to shed payroll, and one that has $108 million per season tied to just five players through at least the 2030 campaign.

New owners Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano made their commitment to winning clear to fans in a message sent to season ticket holders last month, but how much of that commitment will be financial is unclear.

If a salary cap is implemented, it will surely change how president of baseball operations AJ Preller goes about crafting the 2027 roster, regardless of when the season begins or how much financial commitment Jones and Feliciano make.

With issues like the lack of starting pitching and a need for more of an offensive boost in the lineup (both of which became glaringly obvious in October), there aren't many concrete moves Preller can make before knowing the collective bargaining agreement for the next five years.

When Was The Last MLB Lockout?

As the Dec. 1 deadline creeps up, the Padres will be watching along with the rest of the baseball world to see if MLB will lock out its players for the first time since 2021, and maybe even cause it to feature the cancellation of games, which hasn't been seen since the 1994 players' strike that led into 1995.

In 2021, it was assumed that games would be missed, but after MLB initially announced games would be cancelled, Opening Day was delayed and a full 162-game regular season ensued. Both sides will likely have to figure out a way forward by March if they want the same fate for 2027.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.