Goodbye deferrals? MLBs latest CBA proposal targets common Dodgers contract tactics

Major League Baseball made its latest proposal in the sport’s ongoing labor battle on Thursday.And once again, some common Dodgers tactics seemed to be not-so-coincidental targets.As part of a sweeping set of suggested changes that would put term and salary limits on individual player contracts, MLB’s proposal included de facto “max contracts” for players — similar to the system that is currently in place in the NBA — of five years and $202 million for free agents changing teams, and six years and $265 million for free agents re-signing with their previous team.Just as notable — at least to Dodgers fans — is that the league also proposed eliminating deferred money from all future contracts, while maintaining its push for a hard salary cap.As a tradeoff, the league offered to raise minimum player salaries, provide players earlier access to free agency and eliminate qualifying offers that can drag down the markets of top free agents.It marks the latest flashpoint in what have been increasingly contentious negotiations over a new CBA, with the proposal having already been rebuked later Thursday afternoon by the players’ union.It also marks yet another way the league is trying to eliminate some of the methods the Dodgers have used to build their current dynasty, going after the kind of long-term and heavily deferred deals that have helped them navigate record-setting payrolls the last couple seasons.Currently, the Dodgers have six players on deals that would surpass the league’s new proposed contract maximums: Shohei Ohtani (10 years, $700 million), Mookie Betts (12 years, $365 million), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million), Will Smith (10 years, $140 million), Kyle Tucker (four years, $240 million) and Freddie Freeman (six years, $162 million).They also have nine players whose deals include at least some deferred money: Ohtani (who is the most extreme example, having deferred $680 million of his record-breaking salary), Betts, Smith, Freeman,...