UPDATE (as of Feb. 25): The league has cancelled three more days of Spring Training games through March 7, per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich:

Major League Baseball has cancelled three more days of spring training games: March 5, 6, 7, spokesman says. The earliest spring training games can start, by MLB’s scheduling, is March 8. Of course, that’s contingent on getting a deal done by then, so more games could be canceled

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 26, 2022

(Originally posted Feb. 18) As the lockout continues, Major League Baseball announced Friday afternoon that the first week of Spring Training is officially postponed.

“We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of Spring Training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5,” the league said in a statement. “All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands. The clubs have adopted a uniform policy that provides an option for full refunds for fans who have purchased tickets from the clubs to any Spring Training games that are not taking place.

“We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to each side. On Monday, members of the owners’ bargaining committee will join an in-person meeting with the Players Association and remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard toward starting the season on time.”

Pitchers and catchers for the Cubs and other MLB teams were slated to report to their respective Spring Training camps this week.

Prior to the lockout, the Cubs were originally supposed to open their Cactus League schedule Feb. 26 against the Dodgers at Sloan Park.

Both sides are motivated to start the regular season on time and commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier this month players would need a calendar month to prepare for the 162-game schedule.

The Cubs’ first regular season game is scheduled for March 31 in Cincinnati.