MLB To Reduce Size of Domestic Reserve List

Major League Baseball asked for the ability to eliminate hundreds of minor league playing jobs in its latest labor offer to the MLB Players Association, sources familiar with the proposal told ESPN.

Currently, the Domestic Reserve List -- which governs the number of minor league players a team can roster at any time -- is at 180. The league proposed keeping the number at 180 for 2022 but allowing the commissioner's office to reduce the maximum number of players to as few as 150 over the rest of the collective bargaining agreement, sources said. The proposal says the league could adjust the reserve list's size "up or down."

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MLB, according to a league source, has no plans to reduce the size of the list in 2023 but wants the flexibility to do so in future seasons.

The league previously had proposed controlling the size of the Domestic Reserve List multiple times, each of which was rejected by the MLBPA, a union source said. While the union has not formally responded to the most recent version of the plan, the source said, the players intend to reject it and any future proposals that could cut minor league jobs.