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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 24, 2021 3:55:46 GMT -5
MLB, MLBPA Agree To Move Tender Deadline Up To November 30
By Anthony Franco | November 23, 2021 at 8:57pm CDT
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to move this year’s deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players up from December 2 to November 30 at 8:00 pm EST, according to reports from Robert Murray of FanSided and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter links).
The decision moves the tender deadline before the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement, which is scheduled to happen at 11:59 pm EST on December 1. If a new agreement is not reached within the next eight days, it’s generally expected that the league would institute a lockout and subsequent transactions freeze. The MLBPA recently put together a 36-page document outlining the potential parameters of a lockout for players and their representatives, according to a report from Evan Drellich and Rosenthal.
Leaving the tender deadline on December 2 would’ve left arbitration-eligible players in a state of limbo over the course of a potential transactions freeze. Many could’ve been left with uncertainty about whether their current clubs intended to bring them back next season while awaiting a bargaining process that could take weeks or months to resolve.
Against that backdrop, the final few hours of the current CBA could present a hectic time for teams eager to finalize moves before the potential transactions freeze. Certain players, meanwhile, might feel pressure to sign contracts for 2022 rather than risk having to linger in free agency over the course of a lockout and face a potential rushed free agent period were CBA negotiations to linger near or into next year’s Spring Training. By forcing teams to make the final call on their arbitration-eligible players early, some non-tendered options could look to catch on with a new club on December 1 and avoid that uncertainty altogether.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 28, 2021 14:27:26 GMT -5
Latest On CBA Negotiations
By Darragh McDonald | November 28, 2021 at 12:59pm CDT
In a lengthy piece for The Athletic, Evan Drellich profiles Bruce Meyer, who is the MLBPA’s senior director of collective bargaining and legal. Meyer was hired in 2018, after many players were reportedly dissatisfied with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified in 2016. The piece notes that Meyer will meet with league representative Dan Halem near Dallas this week for some final negotiations before the CBA expires at 11:59 ET on December 1, which is this Wednesday. It’s been widely reported that, without a deal at that time, the league is expected to implement a lockout and transaction freeze, to be maintained until a new deal is reached.
As to exactly what points will be negotiated, both sides are understandably being cagey about revealing their positions, though the piece does have a few hints. “We want to find ways to get players compensated at an earlier stage of their careers when the teams are valuing them the most,” Meyer says. “And we want to preserve the fundamental principles of a market system.” This sentiment was echoed by star free agent and Players Association executive subcommittee member Max Scherzer, who was quoted in the article. “Unless this CBA completely addresses the competition (issues) and younger players getting paid, that’s the only way I’m going to put my name on it,” Scherzer said.
There is indeed a tremendous gap between the salaries of younger players and veterans. Until players reaches three years’ service time, they have no ability to negotiate their salary, with their clubs allowed to pay them around the league minimum, which is currently under $600K. After three years, a player can start earning raises through the arbitration system, but is still usually paid well below what they could garner on the open market. Only after accruing six years’ service time does a player earn the right for free agency and the ability to maximize their earning potential. If the players want that system to change, it could come in many forms, such as a higher minimum salary or a reduction in the amount of service time needed for either arbitration or free agency.
However, there does seem to be some awareness that the players won’t be able to get everything that they want this winter. Free agent righty Collin McHugh, who previously served on the subcommittee, framed it thusly. “We’re not gonna change the game completely for players in one CBA,” McHugh said. But that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the players will just roll over in negotiations. When asked about the possibility of a lockout, Meyer had this to say. “I think players understand why it’s a possibility and the reasons for it, and what it will entail. At the end of the day, it’s about what players are willing to fight and sacrifice for. I think players understand that.” Lefty Andrew Miller, another member of the subcommittee, also chimed in about the potential lockout. “If we’re truly serious about making changes, improving the game and improving the position of players, it’s an unfortunate reality of the system. But we are absolutely prepared for it.”
One thing hanging over these negotiations, beyond the usual tensions between athletes and owners, is the lingering resentment over the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal, based on his comments in the article. “I’ve been in charge of labor in this industry since 1998,” Manfred said. “Every single time, I have found a way, we have found a way, to make an agreement and keep the game on the field. One sort of mid-term negotiation in the middle of a crisis of a pandemic — I just don’t put that much weight on it.” The players, however, may not see it quite the same way. “Rob and the commissioner’s office kind of held the season hostage for a minute when everybody was ready to play,” says McHugh. The union filed a grievance over this 2020 season back in May, and it seems the bitterness over that might still carry on into this winter.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 29, 2021 14:12:24 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 29, 2021 14:16:37 GMT -5
@buster_ESPN It does seem more than a little weird that the owners and players are prepared to completely shut down a financial system that individual parties on both sides are exploiting in the last days and hours before the CBA deadline. Talk about mixed messages.
@robertstock6 A reminder to the layman that the owners are the ones locking the doors.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 2:47:02 GMT -5
MLB Reportedly Proposes 14-Team Playoff Field In Collective Bargaining Negotiations
By Anthony Franco | November 29, 2021 at 10:25pm CDT
Major League Baseball has proposed expanding the postseason field to fourteen teams in collective bargaining discussions with the Players Association, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. That’s hardly a surprise, as Commissioner Rob Manfred has publicly advocated for expanding the playoffs (reportedly preferring a 14-team setup) going back to last year, when the league and MLBPA agreed to a 16-team playoff during the shortened 2020 season.
Under the proposed format, the top seed in each league would receive a bye — as is the case with the NFL’s current structure. However, Rogers adds that MLB’s proposal would allow the other two division winners in each league to choose which Wild Card team they’d prefer to face in the first round, which would take the form of a three-game series. The division winner with the second-best record in each league would have its pick of any of the four Wild Card clubs in its league; the final division winner would pick to face one of the other three Wild Card teams; the two Wild Card teams remaining would face one another.
The league has long been expected to prioritize an expanded playoff field in collective bargaining talks. An increased number of postseason games comes with an associated uptick in gate and television revenue, an obvious appeal for ownership groups. The effects for players could be more mixed. While some players could stand to benefit from increased playoff shares, Rogers notes that the MLBPA is concerned that an expanded playoff field could reduce the incentive for teams to aggressively try to bolster their roster.
A broader playoff field increases every team’s odds of getting into the postseason, and front offices may find the greater odds a disincentive to upgrading their roster via free agency or trade. Small-sample postseason series have an inherent high level of randomness. It seems the fear among some on the players’ side is that teams could be satisfied to build a slightly above-average roster (which would stand a much greater chance of making the postseason in a 14-team field than under the current 10-team system) and hope that a hot streak can carry them deep into the playoffs.
MLB, on the other hand, contends that the first-round bye would offer such a significant advantage to the teams with the best record in each league that very good clubs would remain motivated to improve. Meanwhile, the expanded field could offer a greater incentive for teams with mediocre rosters to add short-term impact, since the proposal would significantly increase those teams’ chances of getting to the postseason at all.
Rogers notes that the expanded playoff proposal has been on the table for months, but he reports that MLB recently put forward a new suggestion: a lottery for the top three amateur draft choices. Rather than setting the draft order as the inverse of the league standings — as is the current setup — this proposal would introduce a weighted system that injects more randomness into the process. Teams with the worst records would still have a greater chance of securing higher picks, but any non-playoff team would have a chance at a top three selection.
That offer is in response to players’ concerns that the current system rewards teams that orchestrate long-term rebuilds with perennially high draft choices. Of course, it’s not entirely clear that a weighted lottery would serve as much of a disincentive for tanking, since teams would still have higher probabilities of top picks with worse records.
Rogers’ colleague at ESPN, Jeff Passan, shed some further light on CBA talks this afternoon. Passan reports that the league recently offered a slight raise over the luxury tax thresholds set in the 2016-21 CBA. That’s a turnaround from the league’s earlier efforts to tie a lowered tax threshold to a soft salary floor, an offer the MLBPA rejected. It’s not clear how high the league is willing to set the thresholds, though, and Passan adds that the league’s willingness to raise them might come with associated stiffer penalties for exceeding them. Unsurprisingly, the MLBPA expressed concern that’d counterbalance high-spending teams’ willingness to surpass those thresholds.
Passan further reports that MLB has expressed openness to a “minimal” bump on the league minimum salary, which sat at $570.5K in 2021. MLB’s offer also included the introduction of the designated hitter to the National League, an on-field alteration widely expected to ultimately be put into place. Passan offers an in-depth breakdown of the labor dynamics that is well worth a full read for those interested in the topic.
The current CBA expires on Wednesday at 11:59 pm EST. It’s widely expected that the league will lock out the players if no deal is agreed upon at that point, a move that would come with an accompanying freeze on major league transactions. (Players who were not on a major league roster last season could still sign minor league contracts with clubs, Passan notes). Jon Heyman of the MLB Network tweeted this afternoon that while there’s been “incremental” progress between the two sides of late, there’s “basically no hope” of a deal getting done within the next 48 hours. That reality has been reflected in the flurry of free agent activity we’ve seen in recent days, as many players and teams have been highly motivated to lock in deals before the expected MLB transaction prohibition.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 2:54:42 GMT -5
Jon Heyman @jonheyman · 7h CBA talks have begun in Dallas but word is the Dec. 2 lockout is a certainty. There is said to be incremental movement but not nearly enough progress; the sides haven’t talked much about core economic issues today. Two days to go but basically no hope to avoid a work stoppage,
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 7:28:03 GMT -5
Peter Gammons @pgammo · 1h Players walk into the Lockout Countdown Meetins asking:"Hey, Tigers, Mariners, Rangers...where were you before this labor showdown? How come 63 years w/ AAVs over $10M are signed this week? And the Yankees and Red Sox on hold, two markets where a wild card is not the goal
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 7:35:22 GMT -5
5 things Red Sox fans should know about the looming MLB lockout A closer look what Red Sox fans specifically should know about a potential labor stoppage.
By Tom Westerholm November 29, 2021
At 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the current MLB collective bargaining agreement will expire, plunging the Red Sox and every other team into what most experts believe will be a lockout.
ESPN’s MLB insider Jeff Passan put together a rundown that outlines the major areas of conflict as well as the schedule over the next week, players to watch and much more. Here are five things Red Sox fans in particular should keep an eye on. A lockout feels like an inevitability at this point.
This isn’t Red Sox-specific, but it feels important to note. The two sides are expected to debate a number of key issues, including expanded playoffs, minimum salaries, competitive balance picks, earlier paydays for young stars, the competitive balance tax (better known as the luxury tax) and service-time manipulation (leaving prospects in the minor leagues when they are clearly ready for the majors to keep them from earning a full year of service their rookie season).
The two sides remain far apart, per Passan, despite some small amounts of progress on both sides.
“A deal will come together when the sides narrow down what’s realistic amid all of the dreaming that slows down all bargaining sessions,” Passan wrote. “The hope is that this week more clearly defines those lines, so that even if there is a lockout, the path to a deal will come more easily into focus.” What will the next 48 hours look like in free agency?
A slew of top-tier free agents came off the market on Sunday and Monday as players looked to lock in money before the lockout began. Max Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million deal with the Mets. Robbie Ray inked a five-year, $115 million contract with the Mariners. Corey Seager agreed to a monstrous 10-year $325 million deal with the Rangers.
But several top-tier players are still out there, including a couple who have been tied to the Red Sox in rumors. Jon Heyman reported over the weekend that the Red Sox are one of three teams with serious hopes to add Javier Baez, and he reportedly could sign before the lockout begins.
However, Carlos Correa — who has been loosely connected to the Red Sox and is considered by many the top target in the free-agent class — is not expected to sign before the CBA expires. If the Red Sox want to be in on Correa, they might have to wait (and take part in a feeding frenzy of signings after the lockout ends). Rafael Devers is not expected to sign his extension prior to the CBA.
The Red Sox have reportedly made “zero” progress in talks with Devers, but that seems to have been expected: Extensions are usually signed in training camp rather than during the offseason. Advertisement:
Still, those conversations — which will already be interesting, given the Red Sox’s history of losing homegrown talent — might be even more eye-catching in the light of a new CBA (whenever that occurs). Red Sox fans should still be able to watch Triston Casas on schedule.
Presumably, both sides will kick things into gear if they start to run the risk of missing games. If a doomsday scenario does occur, however, the Worcester Red Sox (and Portland Sea Dogs etc.) would all be allowed to continue as scheduled, since minor league players are not part of the union. They would not, however, be allowed to bring back Jarren Duran, who was part of the 40-man roster last season. Getting a chance to watch Casas, Nick Yorke and Marcelo Mayer might be a small consolation prize.
An interesting side note: There has been some chatter about minor league players unionizing. Minor league athletes receive meager wages and many experienced housing insecurity until this past October, when MLB required minor league teams to provide their players with a place to live. Those working conditions could drive players to organize. Red Sox owner John Henry will be at the table.
Henry — who also owns Boston Globe Media Partners, including Boston.com — is part of the seven-person labor policy committee that will argue in favor of the owners. Dick Monfort of the Rockies is the chair of the committee, which also includes Hal Steinbrenner of the Yankees.
No Red Sox players are part of the MLBPA executive subcommittee. Two subcommittee members — Scherzer and Marcus Semien — just signed enormous deals prior to the shutdown.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 10:15:08 GMT -5
Jeff Passan @jeffpassan · 49m The next round of collective-bargaining talks starts in about 90 minutes. Very little optimism emerged from Monday's session. The refrain from almost everyone involved was the same: When the clock turns from 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to 12 a.m. Thursday, a lockout is almost certain.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 14:12:19 GMT -5
Evan Drellich @evandrellich · 1h The MLBPA walked MLB through a proposal this morning in Texas. Meeting didn’t last long, but people with knowledge of talks say best not to read into duration. Owners didn’t appear thrilled, though. MLB will get back to union, parties may meet again later today. CBA expires tomm.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 14:16:44 GMT -5
The last thing we want to hear about is another baseball work stoppage By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Columnist,Updated November 30, 2021, 2 hours ago
The good news about Major League Baseball’s imminent lockout is that it has created an artificial free agency deadline for many teams looking to improve in hopes that there will be a full 162-game season in 2022.
As of now, unless there’s a labor agreement between owners and the Players Association, all MLB business closes at midnight Wednesday. As a result, we’ve seen a frenzy of signings by aggressive teams intent on improving their chances for 2022.
Through Monday, there had been 16 free agent player agreements with guarantees of more than $20 million (no big splashes for the “deliberate” Red Sox, who spent the last few days buying an NHL team). In the past month, MLB owners have pledged more than $1.4 billion in guaranteed contracts, almost $1.2 billion since Friday.
Former Reds general manager Jim Bowden said it’s been like the July trading deadline and the winter meetings rolled into one. Another way to put it would be to say that baseball is suddenly experiencing something akin to normal NBA free agency.
Unless you’re a fan of the Tampa Bay Red Sox, big news transactions have come fast and furious, which is a good thing for any professional sport and its fans.
What is not a good thing is a lockout. Or a strike. Or a work stoppage of any sort. We all know it’s something MLB can ill afford.
Baseball is already in trouble with sagging interest and lower television ratings. The game is struggling to keep its share of the sports market, largely because the people who play the game have no regard for a dreadful pace of play. While players step out of the box and insist on going to 3-and-2 on every at-bat (”grinding” at-bats are dreadful to watch), the game is slowly dissolving before our eyes.
Old guys like me are dying off and not being replaced by a new generation of baseball fans. Few have time for 3:45 games. And no one should be asked to endure this as entertainment. It’s bad salesmanship all around.
So now the players and owners are threatening to compound their existing problem with millionaire ballplayers going to war against billionaire owners while inflation-riddled America is still trying to recover from a pandemic. The sport has not had a work stoppage since 1994, but a lockout will freeze all transactions until a new collective bargaining agreement is struck. Get ready for an onslaught of thoughtful essays about “a plague on both your houses.”
I have been down this path. Too many times. I knew Marvin Miller. I covered Marvin Miller at the Doral Inn every day of the two-month, midseason baseball strike in 1981 (Tony Clark is no Marvin Miller). Marvin was Snidely Whiplash with a gigantic brain. He was considerably smarter than every baseball owner of his generation. He beat the lords of the game the way Bill Belichick beats rookie quarterbacks. Marvin created the strongest sports union in America.
NFL players almost never go on strike because careers are too short and the union too weak. Baseball players? They used to go on strike regularly. A strike destroyed the 1981 season and killed the World Series in 1994. I was in a hotel in New York for that one, too. It was one of the saddest days in the history of American sports. Just ask Expos fans; Montreal looked primed to make it to the World Series that year.
So what is this disagreement about, you ask? What are the issues getting in the way of a new collective bargaining agreement?
Baseball’s bargaining points are predictably boring and complicated, things like elimination of direct draft-pick compensation … team payroll minimums … lowering the luxury-tax threshold … competitive-balance tax … service-time manipulation … salary caps.
You know … the usual.
It’s all about money. It’s about sharing the gold.
And it’s about a startling lack of trust. The rich ballplayers think the rich owners are trying to screw them. The rich owners will tell you that they are the ones taking all the risk and that the players are greedy, always looking for more.
The only thing certain is that sports fans have no tolerance for it. Nobody wants to hear about it or read about it. It is the most boring topic this side of UMass football and the MLS playoffs.
We have a sport that is in trouble; a sport with a lot of rich people on both sides; a sport teetering on obsolescence. The sport is coming off 26 years of labor peace. Now this. Prepare for a lot of saber-rattling from both sides between now and February.
Pay no attention to the December/January lockout. February is the next real deadline. This doesn’t get serious until we get to the start of spring training and there’s still no new basic agreement. That’s when there’s a threat to the 2022 season.
Meanwhile, we have no appetite to discuss the issues or take sides. Bleep all of them. We will watch something else.
Knock yourselves out, owners. You too, players. In an era of COVID, rampant inflation, and football mania, be mindful that you are not that important and nobody cares who’s right.
If I may tweak the lyrics of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”: “Some won’t care if you never get back.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 19:00:03 GMT -5
Michael Silverman @mikesilvermanbb · 1h IRVING, Texas -- Players chief negotiator Bruce Meyer and players exec committee member Andrew Miller now meeting with MLB lead negotiator Dan Halem and Rockies owner Dick Montfort. Each side has been meeting internally after a 35-minute afternoon joint session.
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 57m I weirdly can't get enough of the endless stream of brutal columns written out of Colorado about Monfort. Awesome that he is leading vital CBA negotiations.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Nov 30, 2021 20:39:41 GMT -5
Jon Heyman @jonheyman · 33m Hearing CBA talks are “going nowhere.” Sides are still in Dallas but lockout is coming Thursday.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Nov 30, 2021 23:07:40 GMT -5
Peter Gammons @pgammo · 1h Players walk into the Lockout Countdown Meetins asking:"Hey, Tigers, Mariners, Rangers...where were you before this labor showdown? How come 63 years w/ AAVs over $10M are signed this week? And the Yankees and Red Sox on hold, two markets where a wild card is not the goal I have no idea what that means.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 1, 2021 3:52:33 GMT -5
Jon Heyman @jonheyman · 4h This may be obvious, but once the lockout begins Thursday there will be no more player signings or even negotiations allowed regarding player contracts until a new CBA is agreed to.
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