Jim Crane’s Astros won the World Series in 2017, but Rob Manfred is now investigating sign-stealing allegations against the organization. Getty images
Major League Baseball’s offseason has had a turbulent start. At last week’s owners meetings in Arlington, Texas, Commissioner Rob Manfred confronted three significant issues: contentious negotiations with MiLB over a new Professional Baseball Agreement; increasing labor tensions with the MLBPA; and the gravity of sign-stealing allegations against the Houston Astros.
Manfred had perhaps his most outspoken comments to date about MLB’s ongoing showdown with MiLB. As part of its proposal, MLB is looking to eliminate more than 40 teams. A letter in “firm opposition” to that proposal was signed by 100 members of Congress last week and addressed to Manfred, which only exacerbated the public acrimony.
When concerns about the state of minor-league facilities and excessive travel have been expressed to the MiLB negotiating team, Manfred said, the response in large part has been that those concerns are MLB’s problem to address.
“At the end of the day, Minor League Baseball needs to make an agreement with us,” he said. “And I think we probably will make an agreement at some point. But we are not going to stand by to let the dialogue or the story that’s out there be a misrepresentation of what happened.”
Manfred also found himself responding to yet another example of discord between labor and management. An NBCSports.com story, citing anonymous sources, said that Manfred expressed to MLBPA representatives last summer that MLB would not agree to a CBA deal where “you pay in economics to get labor peace.”
Manfred said four people were in the room: MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem, union chief Tony Clark, MLBPA chief negotiator Bruce Meyer and himself. Manfred said MLB invited MLBPA to come forward with suggestions about midterm modifications that might address some of their concerns. During the meeting, Manfred said, Meyer suggested a series of changes that would “turn the basic agreement back 50 years.” In response, Manfred said he asked what would be in that deal for the clubs. Manfred said Meyer answered by citing labor peace.
“The way the conversation actually went is I said to him, ‘Labor peace is a mutual benefit,’” Manfred said. “It’s not something that you trade economics against. It is a mutual benefit — it keeps the players working and getting paid and keeps our business going forward.”
Despite those important topics, the investigation into the Astros has overshadowed the rest of baseball’s offseason business to date. The investigation stems from allegations that the team employed a technology-driven sign-stealing scheme during their World Series-winning 2017 season — and perhaps in subsequent years. Owners, especially Houston’s Jim Crane, were averse to discussing the allegations publicly. Manfred called the investigation the “most serious matter” and left open the possibility that discipline could ultimately be more severe than the standard penalties of fines and lost draft picks.
He said that the investigation does not yet extend beyond the Astros. Manfred said the team’s conduct during each of the past three seasons is being investigated, and he hopes that the probe concludes before the 2020 season begins.
“We are going to investigate the Astros situation as thoroughly as humanly possible,” Manfred said. “We are talking to people all over the industry.”
