MLB CBA negotiations (CBA expires 12/1/2021)

[LadyStanley]

Paywall. Athletic update on negotiations. (If you download app, you can read up to 3 articles for free a month.)

MLB players are furious, willing to strike over economic system: 'We're all united'
USA Today

Opinion: Major League Baseball is at a crossroads. What does it want to become?
USA Today opinion/editorial


Contentious negotiations.

Click to read more...

 

[LadyStanley]

Dramatis Personnel

Rob Manfred, MLB commisssioner

Tony Clark, MLBPA head

Dan Halem, league lead CBA negotiator

Bruce Meyer, union lead CBA negotiator

 

[tony d]

Will be interesting to follow. MLB has had some labor peace over the past few decades, wonder if that'll continue.

 

[robert terwilliger]

this has been coming since the last cba when the owners got:

- cbt that teams treat as a salary cap
- capped international spending
- capped draft spending

and the players got:

- 4 extra days off
- 2 seats on the spring training bus
- veteran players get nicer rooms on road trips

seem to anyone else that mlbpa was overmatched? no?

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

this has been coming since the last cba when the owners got:

- cbt that teams treat as a salary cap
- capped international spending
- capped draft spending

and the players got:

- 4 extra days off
- 2 seats on the spring training bus
- veteran players get nicer rooms on road trips

seem to anyone else that mlbpa was overmatched? no?

And now players have to pull teeth to try to get a decent deal when they reach free agency because now GMs don't want to pay for past performance. The solution should be to raise the pay of the 0-3 players and bargain for the minor league players. They might do the former, they won't do the latter.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

And now players have to pull teeth to try to get a decent deal when they reach free agency because now GMs don't want to pay for past performance. The solution should be to raise the pay of the 0-3 players and bargain for the minor league players. They might do the former, they won't do the latter.

that or they get rid of "years of MLB service" to determine when a player hits FA and just makes it "years since drafted". Eliminating the extra 1-3 years some guys get screwed out of when teams play the call up game to make sure a year doesnt count towards service.

that would put a player's first FA year in the 24-26 age range

 

[StreetHawk]

Teams that do not feel that they have a chance to win opt not to spend. Only 10 make the PO with 8 playing a series.

 

[MikeCubs]

that or they get rid of "years of MLB service" to determine when a player hits FA and just makes it "years since drafted". Eliminating the extra 1-3 years some guys get screwed out of when teams play the call up game to make sure a year doesnt count towards service.

that would put a player's first FA year in the 24-26 age range

Getting rid of the current service rule times would be a disaster and turn MLB into the NBA and badly hurt small markets and make baseball unfair like in the steroid era. Imagine having a team tank for years like the current Orioles are going to do to get good young players then have them leave right away for a big market. With service time tied to when you start in the minors teams would also rush prospects and destroy them reducing the overall talent level of the league as a whole.

The solutions to get the players more money should be

1. Get rid of the luxury tax. Teams are scared of 30 year old plus players as it is. The luxury tax would have been a great idea in the steroid era but it's outdated now. If teams want to spend on 30+ year olds knock them selves out.

2. Increase minimum pay

3. Make salary arbitration after year 2 instead of year 3.

4. If 1-3 aren't enough make arbitration after year 2.

 

[evdog]

Saw this on MSN and watched as I was interested in the reasons someone would want to get rid of the draft. Turns out this was MLBPA head, and reasons have more to do with CBA than anything.

Abolishing the MLB Draft: How would that work?

His reasons to eliminate the draft:

1) Rather than be drafted and tied to a team players could sign with any team they wanted. True. Seems like top players would tend to gravitate to a few "have" teams, as can happen with free agents.

2) They wouldn't be limited to the tiered signing bonus based on draft slot, they could negotiate the best possible deal for themselves. I'm sure eliminating the draft would require CBA renegotiation, in which the owners would push hard for limits on bonuses for new players. Whether that sticks? Not sure if MLB is like NHL where half the first round still busts but it seems foolish to throw big bonus money at draft picks who are unproven. Maybe this seems skewed because baseball contracts are astronomically outrageous so why not grossly overpay draftees too?

3) Service time requirements would go away? Not sure how they conclude that has anything to do with the draft...As above ownership would fight hard to maintain control of players through first contract or two.

4) Would eliminate tanking. Fair enough...with no reward of high draft pick for finishing low in the standings this incentive goes away. And having a competitive team and history of winning would be a draw for young players. (But not too stacked a roster that a new player couldn't make the team)

Given the source, this is a pipe dream to free new players of any control of ownership and limits on pay. What player wouldn't want that? I'm sure they will want complete removal of any salary cap as well. But seems to me this would completely screw over small market teams.

 

[LadyStanley]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27223577/sources-mlbpa-drops-lawyer-ahead-cba-talks
ESPN article on lawyer Shapiro leaving MLBPA.

A top MLBPA official’s firing sparks a blame game as the...
Athletic (paywall) on lawyer's dismissal



My, my, my. One person called it a real life Game of Thrones situation. Another indicates that it was a power move to solidify position. Allegations that Shapiro was talking with league outside of sanctioned discussions (denied). Changing power alliances in union, some agents may have more power. League may have position of strength in negotiations and union doesn't.

More convoluted than afternoon Soaps.

 

[joelef]

i hate sports unions

 

[Ted Hoffman]

I think it's interesting that the older players are willing to go to bat to fight for rights for younger players entering MLB, but then look at their minor-league brethren scraping to make ends meet and say "meh, that's life in the minors, use it to motivate yourself to get better to earn our fat paychecks." As if there's some unlimited supply of these jobs and "hard work" is solely sufficient to get into the top-tier.

I get parts of what they're fighting for, but I'm not sure they understand all the ramifications of it. I've got extended thoughts on this, but not nearly enough time. I'll try to throw in some coins on this later.

 

[robert terwilliger]

re-reading ball four after bouton died was pretty eye-opening wrt current cba talks (in all sports)

anyone who hates unions in situations like this roots for the house to win at the casino. there is so much money in sports, a lot of it should go to the people who are doing sports.

 

[GrantLemons]

Teams that do not feel that they have a chance to win opt not to spend. Only 10 make the PO with 8 playing a series.

I feel this is a huge issue with baseball and it's declining interest. You have a regular season that is way too long as it is, but there are so little teams making the playoffs that you essentially know your team is out of it by the ASG or even earlier.

Messing with tradition is a tough and touchy subject, but I feel baseball would benefit greatly from expanded playoffs. More teams will stay in the hunt longer, which creates more competitiveness which creates more interest.

Every game counts in the NFL, the NBA has it's star power, and the NHL has the fact the sport is much more fast paced and exciting to watch objectively. Baseball really has none of those things going for it.

 

[jkrdevil]

I feel this is a huge issue with baseball and it's declining interest. You have a regular season that is way too long as it is, but there are so little teams making the playoffs that you essentially know your team is out of it by the ASG or even earlier.

Messing with tradition is a tough and touchy subject, but I feel baseball would benefit greatly from expanded playoffs. More teams will stay in the hunt longer, which creates more competitiveness which creates more interest.

Every game counts in the NFL, the NBA has it's star power, and the NHL has the fact the sport is much more fast paced and exciting to watch objectively. Baseball really has none of those things going for it.

It’s a balancing act. Expanding the playoffs also means teams virtually clinch in July and have little to play for down the stretch. Plus, the sheer nature of baseball being a game where you need larger sample sizes means you likely to have a more it’s just luck playoffs rending the whole season obsolete.

If baseball does expand the postseason further it needs to increase the playoff incentives for finishing higher in the standings beyond home field (which is meaningless). My suggestion would be to move to even game series for the wild card (2 game series) and a division series (4 or 6 games) with the team that finishes higher in the standings entering the series with an automatic 1-0 advantage.

The ideal time to do that would be when the league expands to 32 teams. You divide each league into two divisions of 8, with the pennant winner automatically going to the division series (and would get the 1-0 advantage is said series). 2nd and 3rd in each division go to the wild card round where they cross with the other division and the 2 second place teams get the 1-0 advantage in the 2 game series (so they only have to win 1 game).

That gives you the extra spot for a team to play in, but keeps the traditional pennant race alive with a big reward.

A reduction of games isn’t going to happen as at this point as the entire sport runs on the Costco model of selling in bulk.

 

[LadyStanley]

Paywall

They're talking, so that's a good thing, right? But doesn't seem to be substantive, yet.