Commissioner, MLBPA executive director disagree on free agency, DH
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The contentiousness of the offseason is still burning hot.
Following a winter in which many big-name free agents received contracts for fewer years and dollars than expected, Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said Tuesday that "What players saw last offseason was that their free agency rights were under attack, that's what they see."
Some of the top free agents like J.D. Martinez, Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn didn't sign until after spring training had started. The Cardinals signed Greg Holland after the season had already begun. Speaking at the BBWAA All-Star Game luncheon on Tuesday, Clark was clear that the MLBPA remains unhappy with the way the offseason unfolded and made a strong insinuation that there could be tough negotiations ahead after the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2021.
"We're very interested in having the opportunity to address those (issues), and if that means 2021, we'll address them then," Clark said. "But what we experienced last offseason was a direct attack on free agency, which has been a bedrock of our economic system, and if that's going to continue then we have some very difficult decisions to make moving forward."
Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke after Clark and again defended the free-market process of free agency.
" 'Direct attack' connotes some sort of purposeful behavior," he said. "The only purposeful behavior that took place in the free-agent market last year was our clubs carefully analyzed the available players and made individual decisions as to what they thought those players were worth. I think if you look back, and we've been watching very carefully, at the end of the year, you'll look at the performance of those players and I'm pretty sure, based on what's already on the books, the clubs made sound decisions as to how those players should be valued. That's how markets operate."
Indeed, Cobb is 2-12 with the Orioles with a 6.41 ERA. Lynn is 7-7 with the Twins with a 5.22 ERA after settling for a one-year contract. Holland, who also took a one-year deal, has a 7.99 ERA. On the other hand, Martinez tops all hitters with 29 home runs (tied with Jose Ramirez) and 80 RBIs and has helped power the Red Sox to the best record in the majors. He signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the team on Feb. 19, five days after spring training began.
Service is another big issue for Clark. Players are eligible for free agency after six seasons in the majors, but teams can hold back a player for a couple weeks in the minors at the start of the season (or some other point in his career) to effectively receive a seventh season of team control. A player's value then decreases if he's a year older when he reaches free agency.
"As much as I offered earlier that there are a number of things we're paying attention to, roster manipulation is at the top, or near the top, of that conversation," Clark said. "In general, watching how teams are moving players in and out and how that affects their service time is something we pay attention to and are concerned about."
Other notes from the Q&A sessions: