Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has cancelled 93 more games, increasing pressure on locked out players and appearing to close any remaining chance to play a full schedule in 2022.

MLB announced two additional series had been cancelled through April 13.

That raised the total to 184 games wiped out from the 2,430-game season, or 7.6 per cent.

"In a last-ditch effort to preserve a 162-game season, this week we have made good-faith proposals that address the specific concerns voiced by the MLBPA and would have allowed the players to return to the field immediately," Manfred said in 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 14."

MLB locked out its players in December after failing to reach terms on a collective bargaining agreement and had already cancelled the first week of the regular season.

The two sides' differences narrowed with the latest counter offer from the players union.

Earlier in the day, management gave the union a new option that would allow an agreement to be cut short after the 2024 season -- leading to even more bargaining between management and players that regard each other with disdain.

While the gaps narrowed on the three most contentious economic items under discussion, management pressed for its long-held goal of an international amateur draft.

Players have repeatedly rejected the proposal since it was made on July 28.

On the 98th day of baseball's first work stoppage since 1995, the last alternative would leave open the possibility of another labour conflict in less than three years.

MLB had told the union that Tuesday was the last possible day to reach an agreement that would allow a modified 162-game schedule, along with full salary and service time needed to reach free agency for players.

"The clubs went to extraordinary lengths to meet the substantial demands of the MLBPA... Regrettably, after our second late-night bargaining session in a week, we remain without a deal," Manfred said.

The deadline Tuesday was the third set by MLB in the past two weeks.