MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday "expressed optimism" that a deal on a new CBA would be "reached before the current one expires Dec. 1," according to Jake Kaplan of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Manfred at the MLB GM meetings in Arizona said, "It's one of those processes where it's difficult to predict with certainty when things are going to take place." Kaplan notes the possibility of an international draft is "one of the prominent topics being discussed." Manfred "declined to delve into specific proposals but discussed his thoughts on the matter" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 11/10). SPORTSNET.ca's Shi Davidi noted Manfred "acknowledged the lack of a deal was impacting the free agent market." He said, "There’s been a lot of public comment to the effect that the absence of an agreement creates a certain amount of uncertainty. As we’ve learned on a broader scale over the last couple of days, markets don’t like uncertainty and that’s just something we have to deal with. It’s a natural product of the expiration date that we have and have always had in this agreement, and I think the union understands that, as well.” Davidi wrote a "prime focus on that uncertainty revolves around the luxury tax threshold," which is currently set at US$189M with penalties for offenders escalating from 17.5% to 50% on any overage. Some agents "feel that uncertainty is impacting the bigger free agents available at the moment, although the qualifying offer process is another question mark at play" (SPORTSNET.ca, 11/9).
TIME KEEPER: In N.Y., Witz & Wagner note there were "probably few who minded" that World Series Game 7 lasted 4 hours 28 minutes, but the game "symbolized" the pace-of-play problem in MLB. In '15, seven minutes were "shaved off the length of the average game, winnowing it down to three hours." However, there was some "backsliding this season," as the average length of games increased to 3:04 and the number of teams that "averaged less than three hours dwindled from 10 to two." Manfred: "Pace of play is one of those topics that’s going to be a constant, ongoing, year-after-year challenge for us. I really mean this. I think our players’ hearts are in the right place, but because we play 162 times in 183 days, it’s easy to lose focus on that issue and I think we lost a little bit of focus this year” (N.Y. TIMES, 11/10).
FOREIGN RELATIONS: Manfred said that he does "not expect the presidential election to affect 'anything we're going to be doing in the next few years.'" In Providence, Tim Britton writes MLB "obviously has a stake in the recent opening of diplomatic relations with Cuba, and a large percentage" of MLBers do not come from the U.S. (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 11/10). Manfred: "Haven’t heard anything with respect to the Cuba issue that would suggest that there’s going to be any change, and I think we’re all familiar with things he said about Mexico. I think we need to wait and see what actually happens” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/10).
CLOSE TO COMPLETE: Manfred said that closure is "nearing" for the Cardinals, Astros and MLB with regard to the "hacking scandal that enveloped the two former rivals last year and led to one prison sentence." In St. Louis, Derrick Goold notes the Cardinals "long have been braced for some punishment." While Manfred has "sought a thorough investigation, he has described the process as not as quick as hoped." Manfred: "The time has come to put this one behind us. I am anxious to do that" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/10).
