Cubs' Happ: Owners didn't make counteroffer in meetings before lockout

Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ shed some light on the failed collective bargaining agreement negotiations between Major League Baseball and the players' association earlier this month.

Happ, who's directly involved in CBA talks as the Cubs' union representative, said owners didn't present a direct economic proposal to players during their most recent meeting in Dallas.

"One of the most disappointing parts is that the owners didn't make one economic proposal the entire time we were there," Happ told 670 The Score's "Bernstein & Rahimi Show" last week. "The morning of Tuesday (Nov. 30) maybe, we made an economic proposal that looped into a proposal from Monday that was a broader package and putting all these things together on one piece of paper."

Happ added: "And we didn't get anything back. We didn't get anything that said, 'OK, here's our proposal in the same realm, here's how we get to a conclusion and move forward.'"

The now infamous Dallas meetings between owners and players preceded the owners locking out players a few minutes after midnight Dec. 2. MLB left the table and ended talks with the union after just seven minutes of negotiating Dec. 1.

The players' proposal included large-scale changes to free agency, service time, arbitration, and an increase in the luxury-tax threshold. They also offered other ideas to help increase revenue, including advertisements on jerseys and expanded playoffs with realignment, as part of the proposal. It was quickly rejected by owners.

"Anyone who has been through a negotiation, whether it's a car or a house or anything, you don't just keep giving numbers and have the other person say no," Happ said. "You don't just keep moving off your position. That's a horrible way to negotiate."

One of the biggest issues for the players during this lockout is making baseball more competitive while curbing tanking and service-time manipulation. Happ noted that players put forth some ideas in these areas, including revamping the compensatory draft-pick system to reward playoff teams instead of the worst clubs.

"If you are a small-market team ... that would be your incentive to go compete on a yearly basis," the 27-year-old said. "If you make the playoffs, (then) you get a comp pick. ... The picks that are now reserved for (a) qualifying offer, which makes it so that no team wants to go out and sign a free agent."

Happ added: "Instead of those picks going to teams that were losing a free agent, give those picks in the comp rounds to small-market teams that are competing and going to be in playoff spots, or tie those picks to teams that went out and signed a big free agent, or teams that increased their number of tickets sold in a given year.

"They went out and actually put more butts in the seats. Those are ways that you increase competitiveness, that you make sure that teams are actually competing."