Will Major League Baseball still lock players out after 2026 postseason proves owners wrong?

Despite a number of fascinating storylines, much of the discussion during the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season was dominated by upcoming labor negotiations with the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in December.

The league office, essentially run by the 30 current owners, started an advertising and promotional campaign designed to inflame tensions and increase support for its proposed salary cap.

As early as June, the league's official account made several posts telling fans how awful baseball is, while claiming that many fanbases have no "hope" of winning a World Series because of payroll disparities.

"The biggest issue baseball fans want solved to strengthen the game is fixing the payroll disparity that leaves too many fans without hope of their team competing for a World Series title," the first post said.

"Every other major U.S. sport has tackled this problem, and every year more small market teams in those leagues have a chance to win.

The salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field, allowing us greater flexibility to address longstanding player priorities while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50." MLB OWNERS REVEAL NEW DETAILS OF SALARY CAP PROPOSAL THAT ALL BUT GUARANTEE A LOCKOUT THIS DECEMBER This was, of course, misleading; many teams get ancillary income that would not be included in the "50/50" split.

And if the proposed floor would be achievable for the small market teams in 2027, it raises the question of why it wasn't in 2026.

Even increased revenue sharing wouldn't come close to bridging the gap for most small market teams.

Regardless though, that "hope" section, again posted in June, has taken a major, major blow by the results in the postseason.

Because it turns out that while spending helps, it doesn't guarantee results.

With the Dodgers, Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays advancing to their respective league championship series on Wednesday, three of the four spots in the penultimate postseason round have been determined.

The last spot will go to one of the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians.

Five teams, out of 30, are left standing.

Here's where they rank in pre-luxury tax player payroll in 2026, per Cot's Contracts: CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE The Dodgers are favorites to win the World Series, but as we've seen from years of experience, the favored team doesn't always win.