Scottsdale, Ariz. – Spring training is just beginning and the opening day is still a month away, but players and executives echo phrases no one in the industry wants to hear.
Work stopped.
The collective bargaining agreement will not expire until December 1, 2026. The two full seasons have not been played yet, but you won’t be able to take a walk to spring training camp.
Many team owners have already campaigned for a pay cap, denounce the Dodgers and New York Mets in Los Angeles for salaries that exceed $300 million, and are confident they won’t be able to compete with the huge pay gap for fans.
Players blame the owners and say that everyone should act like the Dodgers and Mets and do everything they can to win the World Series Championship.
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Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, will also hear that as he begins talking to all 30 teams starting Tuesday with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cleveland Guardians.
“When the commissioner openly suggests that expectations are a halt of work and that lockouts should be considered in the same way, Clark told USA Today Sports. The contract expires. It’s been a year and a half and two years from now.
“We’ll continue to talk about it openly as well. We’re in an environment where the game appears to be moving forward aggressively, but the other side continues to insert negativity into the conversation. But navigate accordingly. I’ll do that.”
No matter how much rhetoric there has been over the years about pay caps, it is completely clear that the union has never changed its attitude.
“I say this, the league has been interested in pay caps for decades,” Clark told the union’s office on Tuesday before trusting the playmaker’s classic event.
“And we’ve been in the same position for decades.”
Instead of groaning and moaning about Dodgers’ $390 million payroll, or Mets owner Steve Cohen signing Juan Soto for a record $765 million, perhaps Clark suggests it’s time to emulate them.
“I have a dream,” Clark said.
However, the reality is that 22 out of 30 teams have reduced their pay this season, with only five people receiving at least five years of contracts. It spends nearly $3.2 billion on free agency to please the union, but eight teams make up about 75% of the spending. The industry, which generated a record $12.1 billion last year, has 14 teams with under $45 million.
“It’s interesting that these teams aren’t asked to have more questions,” Clark said of the teams that reduced their pay. The industry is growing at an all-time high, but it appears that two-thirds of the league are sitting in their hands. ”
Clark also points out that owners claiming poverty appear to have money for other investments.
“Hypothetically speaking, it’s an interesting dynamic that the clubs say they don’t have the money,” Clark said. Money to do more money on that property while running a professional ball club.
“I always find it fascinating when clubs talk about their finances and get into the background of an industry that’s just as fast-growing as this, and it’s an interesting dynamic.”
When 19 teams spent fewer teams than athletics, when they beat club records in the free agent market, they were forced to raise their pay as revenue sharing recipients, something was wrong, It’s there. The union can file a complaint if the revenue sharing recipient does not have at least 150% of what they received to improve performance.
“It was good to see the team improve itself and get involved in accessing the free agent market and doing so,” Clark said.
Clark doesn’t suggest that every team has to spend money like the Dodgers and Mets, but he believes there is no reason why all 30 teams can’t hope for the same victory. Money doesn’t guarantee a championship, and only four of the best spending teams that have won the World Series in the last 25 years can offer hope.
“It’s amazing. When I talk to the players, he’s going to challenge people who are supposed to be on the top of the mountain,” Clark said. It simply isn’t happening.
“It’s a concern, a past concern, and now it’s a concern.”
Instead of calling the Dodgers the new “Evil Empire,” they should probably become a model franchise for everyone to emulate.
Instead of complaining about the Dodgers and their billion-dollar deferral agreement, there’s no reason other teams can’t follow suit. You don’t have to be a large market team to postpone your contract. Everyone has the rights.
“I want to make sure the club and players have the flexibility to sign the deals they want to sign,” Clark said.
“That flexibility has been there for a long time. Some clubs use it. Some don’t. The Dodgers have started using it more. But others too. There is no reason why you can’t do it.
“There’s flexibility there. Despite the fact that it was interesting that the league tried to remove it, there’s a reason for that.”
It is too early for dialogue between the MLB and the union for the next CBA. Neither side is even expected to start talking about minor issues until January 2026. But the day is approaching and has already become a hot topic.
“I’m about to be half the glass guy,” Clark said.
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