TUESDAY: While speaking with reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times) earlier today, Weiner said that the MLBPA is actively pursuing contingency plans for when he is no longer able to work. While Weiner declined to list specific candidates to be his successor, he did say that he doesn't expect Fehr to return.
FRIDAY: With executive director Michael Weiner's health in question, the MLB Players Association is contemplating the return of Weiner's predecessor, Donald Fehr, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Weiner, 51, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in August 2012.
Since stepping down as the MLBPA's executive director in 2009, Fehr has been voted the director of the National Hockey League Players Association. Passan reports that it's not clear if Fehr would return to the MLBPA in a senior management or adviser role.
Passan adds that Fehr has shown no inclination to leave the NHLPA and that the MLBPA is considering a number of names as it prepares contingency plans. Weiner is also heavily involved in the current Biogenesis scandal, as the MLBPA works to ensure that each player in the scandal is given a fair appeal. Weiner has issued a pair of statements on the Biogenesis situation, condemning the early leaks of names in the clinic's logs as well as voicing a desire to defend the players and uphold the integrity of the Joint Drug Agreement. Weiner is on his fourth round of cancer treatments, according to Passan's report.
