MLB's stagnant free agent market is "another reminder of how the league has continued to outsmart the players union in recent collective-bargaining negotiations," according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. TIMES. The MLBPA has "resisted a hard salary cap at all costs, only to agree to increased luxury-tax penalties that have created de facto ceilings and offered teams excuses not to spend money." At a time when the sport’s revenues are at an "all-time high, spending is down and many high-quality players remain out of work." Teams appear "content to delay addressing their needs until the start of spring training nears, when desperate players might be willing to sign for less." Some agents are "wondering if the union should agree to a hard salary cap in exchange for a salary floor, the thinking being that forcing every team to spend a certain amount of money would at least create greater demand for solid but non-superstar players" (L.A. TIMES, 1/13). In Chicago, Barry Rozner noted the Competitive Balance Tax is a "soft cap and it's working like a hard cap this winter." That is "just the way" MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and his "small-market owners hoped it would work." Teams like the Cubs, Dodgers and Yankees are "desperate to stay under the tax this year so they can be ready for the monster class that hits free agency next winter" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 1/14).
INCHING CLOSER TO COLLUSION? Former MLBer Mike Stanton said the slow market "has been coming for six, seven, eight years." Stanton, a former MLB player rep and a current Astros announcer, said, "Free agency gets pushed back and pushed back because teams know once you get closer to spring training, prices are going to come down." In N.Y., Tyler Kepner noted Stanton did not "use the word collusion." However, he has "noticed a startling lack of urgency in this market." Stanton: "Teams are running it more like a business. You always had those loose cannons out there who would overpay for guys, and those owners just aren’t there anymore. You see more young-gun GMs who want to show they can put a winning product on the field without spending $250 million" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/13). In Chicago, Bruce Miles notes Cubs officials "downplayed talk of collusion" during their annual fan fest this weekend. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein "provided an explanation for the slow market." He said, "Every team has to make decisions in their own best interests. That's what's going on. There are some macroeconomic trends in the game. Probably, after the last collective-bargaining agreement, teams are just trying to position themselves the best way they can, probably with one eye on next year's free-agent market and trying to get their payroll where they want. It's hard to say there's any one reason. It's probably a combination of factors. I don't know that we've ever seen anything quite like this" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 1/15).
