Major League Baseball's labor contract expires on December 1, and owners are likely to lock out players as soon as it ends, AP and CBS Sports report. The 2027 season is scheduled to open on March 24.

The two sides have been bargaining since May but have no common ground on the main money issues, AP reports. Owners want a salary cap and a payroll floor, and a limit of 15% of a team's payroll for any one player. Players have long said they will never agree to a cap.

Players want wider free agency and arbitration rights, AP says. They also want nearly double the league minimum salary and more revenue sharing between rich and poor teams.

A lockout would freeze all deals, CBS Sports reports. No players on 40-man rosters could be traded or signed, and they would be shut out of team facilities. Free agency begins November 2, leaving about a month for moves before a lockout, the outlet says. Before the last lockout in 2021, teams rushed to sign players, AP reports.

Tampa Bay pitcher Pete Fairbanks, a member of the union's leadership group, said in April that "everybody knows where we're headed" on December 1, AP reports. Commissioner Rob Manfred said he is not "a deadline bargainer."

The last labor deal was reached in March 2022 on the 99th day of a lockout, AP says. Opening day that year was pushed back by a week.

What we know: MLB's labor deal ends December 1, and a lockout is widely expected.
What we don't: How long a lockout would last, or whether games in 2027 would be lost.