By RONALD BLUM

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Major League Baseball threatened to let its 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline for a labor deal pass and start canceling regular season games, saying it would make a final offer to locked out players as the clock ticked away.

The sides made progress during 16 1/2 hours of bargaining Monday but were still far apart on key issues, then recessed talks at 2:30 a.m. (Eastern time) The union held a 2 1/2-hour call with players representatives on Tuesday and followed with an offer that MLB responded to with its threat.

“We thought there was a path to a deal last night and that both sides were closing in on the major issues,” an MLB official said, speaking on the condition he not be identified by name. “They couldn’t make us a CBT proposal (competitive balance tax) last night, so we agreed to extend the deadline to exhaust every option.

“The MLBPA had a decidedly different tone today and made proposals inconsistent with the prior discussions. We will be making our best offer before the 5 p.m. (Eastern) deadline.”

The union did not publicly respond to MLB. It has repeatedly cautioned that significant differences remained in key economic areas.

The heightened tension could be a last public venting before final negotiations that lead to a deal, or it could reflect a hardening of positions.

Mets star pitcher Max Scherzer and free-agent reliever Andrew Miller were present for talks, the ninth straight day of bargaining and the 90th day of the lockout.

Commissioner Rob Manfred had said Monday was the last possible day to reach an agreement that would allow the minimum time needed for spring training in order to play openers as scheduled on March 31.

The union said it didn’t necessarily agree to the timeframe.

Players are working out at non-MLB facilities in Florida, Arizona and elsewhere. Yankees slugger Luke Voit said a March 31 start date was doable if a deal got done in the next couple of days.

“I think the hardest part is going to be getting everybody down here,” he said after practicing at a Tampa high school Tuesday. “It’s going to be such a rush, trades, free agents signings.”

The sides agreed Monday, subject to an overall deal, to expand the postseason from 10 to 12 teams, rather than the 14 MLB had hoped for.

On central economics, the sides were still searching for agreement. Management’s proposals included:

— MLB proposed raising the luxury tax threshold from $210 million to $220 million in each of the next three seasons, $224 million in 2025 and $230 in 2026. Players asked for $238 million this year, $244 million in 2023, $250 million in 2024, $256 million in 2025 and $263 in 2026.

— MLB proposed $25 million annually for a new bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, and the union dropped from $115 million to $85 million for this year, with $5 million yearly increases.

— MLB proposed raising the minimum salary from $570,500 to $675,000 this year, with increases of $10,000 annually, and the union asked for $725,000 this year, $745,000 in 2023, $765,000 in 2024 and increases for 2025 and 2026 based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners.

The union believed there was an understanding on luxury tax rates, which management had been proposing to substantially steepen while eliminating higher penalties for recidivist high spenders.

Players’ latest proposals contemplated giving up on expanding salary arbitration from the top 22% to 35% by service time of the players with at least two seasons of service and less than three, but only if MLB agreed to other union proposals.

Players would lose $20.5 million in salary for each day of the season that is canceled, according to a study by The Associated Press, and the 30 teams would lose large sums that are harder to pin down.

Spring training games were to have begun Saturday, but baseball’s ninth work stoppage — and first since 1995 — already has led to exhibitions being canceled through March 7.

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