Why Rob Manfred is Bypassing Union Leadership to Court Players

Yahoo

a day ago

An MLB lockout after the 2026 season seems inevitable when the current collective bargaining agreement expires that December. During his annual meetings with teams, Commissioner Rob Manfred has reportedly been telling players that MLB Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark and union leadership are not interested in delivering change for rank-and-file members. Front Office Sports reporter Eric Fisher is calling Manfred's strategy 'potentially high-risk, high-reward.'
The Athletic's Evan Drelich reported last month that Manfred believes there is a disconnect in thinking between the union and players.
'There seems to be kind of a mismatch between what we see at the union leadership level and what the players are thinking,' Manfred said at an investor event held by the Atlanta Braves recently.
'The strategy is to get directly to the players. I don't think the leadership of this union is anxious to lead the way to change. So we need to energize the workforce in order to get them familiar with or supportive of the idea that maybe change in the system could be good for everybody.'
In the last labor deal, the executive committee was against it, but the union members voted for it and it passed.
In an interview with Sportsnaut's 'Big League Buzz,' Fisher noted that Manfred is hoping to get his point across to rank-and-file members without union leadership present.
'That's kind of the thinking this time around,' said Fisher. 'If Manfred can meet with individual players, get his point across, maybe a similar situation can happen again in 2026. Regardless of what executive leadership at the union — either from a staff basis or a player-based executive committee — thinks of what's on the table, again, if a plurality of players like it, maybe they can get to a different place.
'That's the overarching strategy. I also think there are some personality issues at play. I think the principals involved on both sides of the table don't necessarily like each other that much.'
The biggest issue will be owners wanting to institute a salary cap. The MLBPA and union members have been against it, pointing to what happens in the NFL every year where players are getting released or having their deals restructured.
'There's a principle that's been in place for decades, but they also, on a very tangible, real-world basis, see negative outcomes elsewhere in sports that they don't want to copy,' said Fisher about the MLBPA being against a salary cap in baseball.
The last MLB lockout occurred from Dec. 2, 2021 until March 10, 2022. It delayed the start of the season but no regular season games were missed.
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