Eventual signings of top free agents like Martinez will help bring Opening Day payrolls closer to the $4B markGETTY IMAGES
The MLBPA yesterday "took the unusual step" of releasing a statement shooting down the rumor that players may boycott Spring Training due to a slow free agent market, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. The MLBPA in the statement said, "Recent press reports have erroneously suggested that the Players Association has threatened a 'boycott'' of spring training. Those reports are false. No such threat has been made, nor has the union recommended such a course of action." Hoynes notes there is a "growing concern among players about the more than 120 free agents who are still unsigned with spring-training reporting dates drawing near" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 2/5). In N.Y., Ken Davidoff noted this "historically slow free-agent market reached a boiling point of sorts Friday," when CAA Sports' Brodie Van Wagenen "published a statement on Twitter that threatened a mass spurning of spring training 'if behavior doesn’t change' and noted team owners’ behavior 'feels coordinated, rightly or wrongly.'" Van Wagenen wrote, "There is a rising tide among players for radical change. A fight is brewing." Fellow agent Joshua Kusnick "backed up Van Wagenen with a tweet of his own." He wrote, "(It) has certainly felt like an external force has held things up." But Davidoff wrote it is the MLBPA that "signed off on the CBA that rewarded tanking and penalized clubs that spent too much." A's DH Brandon Moss said on MLB Network last week, "Sooner or later, you have to take responsibility for a system you created for yourself. It’s our fault" (N.Y POST, 2/3).
WHO'S AT FAULT? In N.Y., John Harper wondered how the players would "justify a spring training boycott, which would be a violation" of the CBA. Harper: "How would they justify such action under any circumstances at the moment? Why, because the Red Sox want to draw the line on a J.D. Martinez contract at $125 million? Nobody will give Yu Darvish a seven-year contract -- or Eric Hosmer an eight-year deal?" Maybe this offseason has more to do with agent Scott Boras, who "represents a handful of top free agents, refusing to lower his famously-high price tags than anything else" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/3). In San Diego, Jeff Sanders wrote while the players "may have a point," they will "walk away from the PR battle with their noses good and bloodied" if Hosmer not receiving an eighth year in an offer approaching $200M is at the "heart of the first potential work stoppage" since '94 (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/3).
NO MORE SITTING BACK: YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Passan cited sources as saying that as the MLBPA "confronts a toxic labor environment for the first time in nearly a quarter century, a number of obstacles complicate its efforts to establish an identity and strategy." Players are as "engaged as they’ve been in decades and yet find themselves with a steep learning curve to grasp the intricacies of labor strife." They are "furious with ownership about what they feel was the betrayal of a strong partnership that enriched both and yet have not hesitated to question union leadership on its culpability." The players feel as though free agency "is under attack by ownership" and the "potential repercussions horrify them." The "rapidity with which the market changed staggered the players, and channeling their fire into effective policy is the primary goal -- and one at which they continue to work out kinks." A goal of conference calls being held with players is to offer an "ability to learn about the issues and rebuild cohesion simultaneously." However, as teams "show zero desire to budge now and longtime agents fret that the supposed salve" of the projected free-agent class next offseason is actually going to "exacerbate the problem, the players are asking themselves, with understandable trepidation, whether their attempts to quell this disruption might be too late" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/4).
MADE THEIR OWN BED: SPORTSNET.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith noted the CBA "shifted power from the players to the owners when it was signed last winter." While the players "bargained for lifestyle fixes like extra space on team buses, MLB did a more thorough job of anticipating the consequences of their economic decisions." People "respond to incentives," and the CBA "incentivizes teams not to spend." MLB negotiators "appear to have anticipated that better than their counterparts" (SPORTSNET.ca, 2/2). The N.Y. Daily News' Bob Raissman said the players were so "inept in the bargaining" as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred "took them to the cleaners" during the CBA negotiations ("Daily News Live," SNY, 2/2). SI.com's Tom Verducci noted the MLBPA "lost the CBA negotiations because it was obsessed with 'quality of life' issues, such as days off, empty seats on buses, and clubhouse chefs, and because many players railed against the idea of a worldwide draft." Verducci: "Economic issues? They took their eye off the ball, and the error is showing up on the scoreboard now that the intellect of front offices has risen to an all-time high" (SI.com, 2/2). In Boston, Sean McAdam noted the players can "take a sizeable slice of the blame pie, and know that the bad labor agreement they signed off on still has four more long years before expiring" (BOSTONSPORTSJOURNAL.com, 2/3).
CLARK ON THE CLOCK? In Toronto, Richard Griffin wondered if MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark could "still be in charge of the union when the next basic agreement is negotiated after the 2021 season." The outcome of the next 12 months "will have a lot to do with it." Given the way things unfolded, the owners "clearly won the last contract" (TORONTO STAR, 2/3). N.Y Daily News' Harper said there is "heat" on Clark "because they didn't raise the salary tax threshold high enough so teams don't have enough to spend" ("Daily News Live," SNY, 2/2). NBC Sports Bay Area's Ray Ratto: "The union has been in a form of retreat on a bunch of different things because Tony Clark ... is not as good at this as Michael Weiner was before he died and Don Fehr before he left to go do hockey and Marvin Miller before he died" ("The Happy Hour," NBC Sports Bay Area, 2/2).
MISSING THE MARK: YAHOO SPORTS' Passan reported projected Opening Day payrolls for MLB teams have "cratered this offseason, with teams’ estimated outlay on players lower than last season despite record revenues" of more than $10B. Teams have committed nearly $285M "less to player salaries" in '18 than their Opening Day payrolls in '17. It would "mark the first drop in payroll at the beginning of a season" since '09, when salaries dipped 1.3%. Since then, they have "risen on average" 5.5% a year, exceeding the $4B mark on Opening Day last year. Teams to date have committed around $3.78B -- a 7% "decline from last season." While the eventual signings of top free agents RF J.D. Martinez, 1B Eric Hosmer and Ps Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish will "help bring that number closer" to the $4B mark, the "prospect of wage stagnation is another trend that troubles players as they consider how to voice their displeasure." That is evidenced by 16 teams "spending less than they did last spring" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/2).
