Morning Mound Visit: MLB and MLBPA to meet again Thursday

Mike Axisa and RJ Anderson | CBS Sports: All pitchers and catchers were due to report for spring training Wednesday. Instead, the league and the union will meet again Thursday to negotiate a new CBA as the owners continue their lockout. A deal needs to be made within the next two weeks to avoid a delay to the season, but an agreement on Thursday is not considered likely.

Patrick Reddington | Federal Baseball: Before the lockout, Juan Soto reportedly turned down a 13-year, $350 million contract extension. Soto is slated to become a free agent after the 2024 season and he’ll be just 26 years old. $350 million is hard to turn down, but Soto is poised to blow past that number at the rate he’s going.

Patrick Dubuque and Craig Goldstein | Baseball Prospectus $: It’s almost impossible to talk about the baseball in Major League Baseball without also talking about financial value. It’s increasingly clear that profit is the sole purpose for MLB. The baseball is merely incidental.