MLBPA accuses teams of threatening the 'integrity of the game'
A race to the bottom, or unrealistic agents with overpriced players?
Depending on who you ask, those are two explanations for why the Major League Baseball free agent market has been so quiet this year. With pitchers and catchers getting ready to report to spring training, about half of the top 20 free agents are still on the market.
Among the unsigned are J.D. Martinez, Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb.
There’s been a lot of finger pointing on who’s to blame for a cold hot stove league.
Superagent Scott Boras, who represents several of the unsigned free agents, said teams refusing to spend money to improve are creating a “noncompetitive cancer” in the league. This is particularly egregious, Boras said, because the teams are making record profits.
MLB officials say the problem may be agents, like Boras, who typically go late into the market waiting for the best deals. But those deals haven’t materialized, which has the MLB Players Association worried.
“Pitchers and catchers will report to camps in Florida and Arizona in one week,” Tony Clark, executive director of the players union, said in a statement Tuesday. “A record number of talented free agents remain unemployed in an industry where revenues and franchise values are at record highs.
Statement of #MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark… pic.twitter.com/4RwL1JpA5Q
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) February 2, 2018
“Spring training has always been associated with hope for a new season. This year a significant number of teams are engaged in a race to the bottom. This conduct is a fundamental breach of the trust between a team and its fans and threatens the very integrity of the game,” Clark said.
The MLB responded to Clark’s statement, saying the problem is the agents haven’t been able to adequately assess the market.
Major League Baseball issued the following statement today in response to the comments made by MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark: pic.twitter.com/JE2AFRpEDZ
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) February 6, 2018
“Our Clubs are committed to putting a winning product on the field for their fans,” MLB said in its statement. “Owners own teams for one reason: they want to win. In Baseball, it has always been true that Clubs go through cyclical, multi-year strategies directed at winning.
“It is common at this point in the calendar to have large numbers of free agents unsigned. What is uncommon is to have some of the best free agents sitting unsigned even though they have substantial offers, some in nine figures. It is the responsibility of players’ agents to value their clients in a constantly changing free agent market based on factors such as positional demand, advanced analytics, and the impact of the new Basic Agreement. To lay responsibility on the Clubs for the failure of some agents to accurately assess the market is unfair, unwarranted, and inflammatory.”
It all seems to be heading to a showdown between the players and the owners.
Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen, at an appearance last week, expressed his frustration to a reporter from the Los Angeles Times about the lack of big-name free agent signings.
“Maybe we have to go on strike, to be honest with you,” Jansen said. “Maybe I could say that, for me, maybe we should go on strike and fix that,” Jansen said. “Maybe not. I think it’s a thing we maybe address that to the union. I’m not going to say that to you guys. I’m going to have that talk to the union, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Last Friday, agent Brodie Van Wagenen, who represents unsigned free agents Jon Jay, Jason Vargas and Andrew Cashner, indicated that the unrest goes beyond Jansen.
“There is a rising tide among players for radical change,” Van Wagenen said. “A fight is brewing. And it may begin with one, maybe two, and perhaps 1,200 willing to follow. A boycott of spring training may be a starting point, if behavior doesn’t change.”
https://twitter.com/bvanwagenen/status/959461867990155265
“Bottom line, the players are upset. No, they are outraged. Players in the midst of long-term contracts are as frustrated as those still seeking employment. Their voices are getting louder and they are uniting in a way not seen since 1994,” Van Wagenen said.
Those sound like fighting words.
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