Update from March 9, 2022:

On Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced two additional regular season series have been removed from the schedule, postponing Opening Day until April 14. 

Commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement:

“Because of the logistical realities of the calendar, another two series are being removed from the schedule, meaning that Opening Day is postponed until April 14th. We worked hard to reach an agreement and offered a fair deal with significant improvements for the players and our fans. I am saddened by this situation’s continued impact on our game and all those who are a part of it, especially our loyal fans.”

MLB had previously announced on March 1 that the first two scheduled regular season series had been canceled, including the Cubs season-opening series in Cincinnati, and their home opening series vs. St. Louis. Now, the Cubs’ next two series have also been removed from the schedule, including a four-game home set against Milwaukee and a two-game road series at Pittsburgh.

The Cubs are now set to start the 2022 regular season April 14 in Colorado.

The Players Association released the following statement:

Update from March 1, 2022:

After a week-and-a-half of daily negotiations in Florida, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association did not come to an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement Tuesday.

On Day 90 of the lockout, the MLBPA rejected the owners’ most recent offer and the two sides departed without a deal in place. The result is an impact on the 2022 regular season schedule, as commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed in a press conference Tuesday the first two series of the season will be canceled.

Due to the nature of the MLB regular season schedule with interleague play on a daily basis, Manfred indicated there are too many moving parts to simply postpone the games. When teams only see each other once a season — as in interleague play — it’s difficult to reschedule a week’s worth of games.

The Cubs were scheduled to open the 2022 schedule March 31 in Cincinnati. After a three-game stint with the Reds, David Ross and Co. were slated to return home to welcome the Cardinals for a two-game series at Wrigley Field on April 4 and 6. The earliest the Cubs’ season will start would be April 7 against the Brewers at Wrigley Field.

With a lockout that began in early December, Manfred instituted a deadline on Monday — the final day of February — with the hopes that a deal could get done and still leave the necessary month for players to get up to speed in Spring Training.

The two sides held a negotiating session in Florida late into Monday night and the deadline was subsequently pushed back a day. Prior to the end of business on Tuesday, the MLBPA rejected the owners’ offer and headed back to New York.

Manfred said the league will “need to regroup and figure out how to move the process forward” and negotiations will continue, though no agreement will be reached until Thursday at the earliest due to each party’s respective travel.

The Players Association reacted to the news Tuesday:

Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/rmpciPsQm4

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) March 1, 2022