The Rays are believed to be the second largest revenue-sharing recipient, getting around $45M a yearGETTY IMAGES
Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg dismissed a complaint filed by the MLBPA yesterday that stated the team does not comply with rules of how they spend their revenue sharing money, saying he was "genuinely surprised" by it and the Rays were "beyond what compliance is" within the rules, according to Marc Topkin of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Sternberg said, "We're very judicious in how we spend our money, but it's spent in a lot of forms, and payroll is one of them. I think the payroll we have out here, and the players we have out here, we're doing our jobs." He pointed out that the Rays will have a "higher payroll" this Opening Day -- about $73M as of now even after their recent seemingly cost-saving deals -- than last, and among the "highest of his 13-year stewardship, despite another season of MLB worst attendance." MLBPA's grievance, which also includes the A's, Marlins and Pirates, could "lead to a hearing before baseball's independent arbitrator, with the union seeking damages to make unsigned players 'whole,' a seemingly difficult value to ascertain." The Rays are believed to be the "second largest revenue-sharing recipients (behind the Marlins)," getting around $45M a year. The union complaint could have merit, based on a "follow-up to [a] less-formal inquiry it made in January about the Marlins and Pirates." Or maybe, as Pirates President Frank Coonelly said, the union "took this action to deflect blame for the unprecedentedly slow free agent market" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/28).
Huntington said the Pirates are doing everything necessary to put a competitive team on the fieldGETTY IMAGES
WALKING THE PLANK: Pirates Senior VP & GM Neal Huntington said, "We feel we are in compliance. ... We are doing what we need to do to grow this organization and put a competitive team on the field." THE ATHLETIC's Rob Biertempfel noted the Pirates are the "only team that has not signed a free agent to a major league deal this offseason." At roughly $80M, the Pirates’ payroll is at its "lowest level" since '14 (THEATHLETIC.com, 2/27). In Pittsburgh, Bill Brink notes the MLBPA "threatened to come after the Pirates before," in '10, when they began the season with a $34.9M payroll. They reached $99.9M after the '16 season (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/28). Also in Pittsburgh, Ron Cook writes of Pirates fans, "I don’t think they’re especially comforted or even believe team president Frank Coonelly’s terse claim that the MLBPA’s grievance is 'patently baseless.'" Cook: "I’m thinking they are really envious of Penguins fans" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/28).
SOMETHING'S FISHY: In Ft. Lauderdale, Craig Davis notes even without the Marlins' four departed stars, who will earn about $52M combined this season, the team is tracking for a $95M payroll, which would be "third-largest in franchise history to begin a season." That is "well above the totals of the other three teams named in the grievance." The Marlins have "signed one free agent," with CF Cameron Maybin agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.25M last week (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 2/28). In Miami, Jackson, Spencer & McPherson note this is the "second time union has filed a grievance against the Marlins," with the first coming in '08. The team "reached an agreement with MLB and the union to what amounted to a stern warning" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/28).
BEEN HERE BEFORE: In S.F., Susan Slusser notes the A’s "revenue-sharing porting has been an issue before." In '16, other owners believed that the A’s "weren’t making a strong effort" to find a replacement for the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, so the team’s revenue-sharing checks "are being phased out over a four-year span." The A’s are down to 50% of their "previous allotment," taking in about $20M in revenue sharing this winter -- along with the $50M each major-league team received for a subsidiary property of MLBAM. That math -- taking in $70M, spending $63.5M to date -- has "not gone unnoticed" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/28). Also in S.F., John Shea writes, "Don’t fault A’s fans if they applauded the grievance." These folks are "desperate for their team to rise from the ashes, keep its best players and finish somewhere beyond last place." Perhaps the grievance "offers a glimmer of hope" that A's Managing Partner John Fisher will "invest more in his players." The A’s have said that they "can’t commit long term to their players" until they get a ballpark that "generates more revenue, and with the ballpark pursuit on hold again and revenue sharing dwindling ... the outlook is gloomy unless Fisher changes the economic culture" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/28). NBC Sports Bay Area's Ray Ratto said, "The thing that makes the A's different, and probably why there won't be any action against them, is that they're going to lose the revenue sharing in a couple years anyway as part of baseball's frustration with their inability, reluctance, refusal to address their stadium situation." He added, "The reason the grievance was brought was because Miami and Tampa have basically said, 'No, that's not what we're doing'" ("The Happy Hour," NBC Sports Bay Area, 2/27).
NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT: MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark yesterday "confirmed that the union had filed the grievance but declined to comment on it." Clark said that this was "not a case of a select few teams doing a tear-down" -- a strategy the Astros and Cubs employed on their way to winning the last two World Series. He said that "at least 10 of baseball’s 30 teams were not trying to win in the coming season, suppressing the free-agent market." In N.Y., Billy Witz notes nearly one-third of the 166 players who became free agents after last season "remain unsigned." Clark said that 17 teams were at least $50M "below the luxury tax threshold." Clark was asked if, given hindsight, he had "seen any of this coming while negotiating the collective bargaining agreement." Clark: "If we had known that there was going to be upwards of a third of the league that may not be as interested in being the last team standing and therefore wouldn’t value experience on some level, then I would say yes." He added, "But that was never the assumption. The entire CBA is grounded and fundamentally focused in on creating as many opportunities for all 30 teams as possible. I don’t know how many years you heard competitive balance, competitive balance, competitive balance" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/28).
