It was reported last week that there was something of a split in the MLB Players Association, with one contingent looking to replace deputy director Bruce Meyer with 33-year-old Harry Marino. Those efforts seem to be losing momentum, with Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic providing a rundown of the latest developments, which seem to point towards executive director Tony Clark and Meyer surviving in their current positions.
Clark released a statement from the eight-player subcommittee which stated: ““We still have issues to discuss, but one thing clear among the MLB executive subcommittee members is that this is no longer a Harry Marino discussion, in any respect.”
Clark also released his own statement on the matter: “For decades, the bedrock of the MLBPA has been an engaged membership that does not bend to outside agendas. It therefore comes as no surprise that a coordinated and covert effort to challenge this foundation has troubled players at all levels of professional baseball. These concerns are being discussed where they should be, in clubhouses around the league. In due time, they will be resolved consistent with the traditions of this great organization.”
Marino also released a statement, expressing displeasure with the way things have proceeded. “It has been shocking and disappointing to hear that several major-league and minor-league players are being threatened, bullied, and retaliated against for having come forward with their honest opinions,” Marino wrote. “It is important to remember that federal law protects every union member’s right ‘to express any views, arguments, or opinions’ and ‘to meet and assemble freely with other members.’ Players should never apologize for exercising these rights.” Marino didn’t provide specifics of these accusations but former player Josh Thole named director of player services Kevin Slowey. “I have received a number of calls from minor-league player reps this week saying that Kevin Slowey called them to bully and intimidate them into changing their opinions on their union’s current direction,” Thole said in a statement.
It has obviously been a frustrating offseason for the players, with the market having greatly underperformed expectations. At the top of the market, players like Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman were predicted for nine-figure deals at the start of the winter but each remained unsigned into the start of Spring Training and eventually pivoted to a short-term, opt-out laden deal. Lower on the market, players like Gio Urshela, Amed Rosario, Adam Duvall and many others settled for contracts barely above the league minimum salary.
This frustration seems to have boiled over in the form of this discord within the union. Marino previously suggested players sought him out while looking to make a change, though no such change has happened. As the executive director, Clark has say over hiring and firing decisions and did now bow to pressure to move on from Meyer during a call with Marino and several players last week. A 72-person executive board, which includes the eight-person subcommittee, has the power to vote out Clark but it doesn’t seem like anything of that nature is being considered. In November of 2022, the MLBPA voted to extend Clark’s contract through 2027.
As pointed out by Drellich, the end of Marino’s statement seemed to suggest his efforts to push change are no longer on the table. “At this point, what will happen next remains to be seen,” Marino said. “How hard the players are willing to fight for the changes they want is a decision for the players. … I will never turn down a request for assistance from any group of major-league or minor-league players. My sole aim is to serve the players and I will continue to make myself available to do so in whatever way I am asked.”
Marino had previously been the head of Advocates For Minor Leaguers, the group that unionized minor leaguers. Those minor leaguers were folded into the MLBPA, with Marino and Meyer then negotiating the first ever collective bargaining agreement for minor leaguers. It was recently reported that the involvement of minors leaguers has now led to them holding 34 of the 72 seats on the executive board. Marino and Meyer reportedly did not get along during the negotiation process and Marino then left the union. As Drellich points out, both Marino and Thole worked for the union for less than a year in the 2022-23 period.
That the efforts to replace Meyer have fizzled out seems to align with statements from Jack Flaherty, who gave an interview to Rosenthal on the weekend. Flaherty is on the eight-person subcommittee was reportedly one of the Marino backers last week but he expressed remorse in the interview about how things played out, sharing his admiration for Clark in the process. “There was one phone call that went on that I put Tony in a bad position in, where Harry tried to push his way through,” Flaherty said. “He tried to pressure Tony, and Tony stood strong, said this is not going to happen. Tony has done nothing but stand strong in all of this. That was something I would love to take back. I never wanted Harry to be in Bruce’s position.”
Flaherty repeated that he was not trying to replace Meyer with Marino. “I said he’s not somebody to replace Bruce, but if you guys want to listen to him, we can continue this conversation. Things got way out of hand after that.” When asked if Meyer was going to be replaced, Flaherty said that he had “absolutely no idea” and conversations of that nature would “stay internal.” He added that “Bruce is somebody who has done a really good job as part of the union. He has helped us through the last CBA and through COVID and has done a really good job stabilizing everything and moving us in the right direction.” As for those internal discussions, he added that “Our job is to have these conversations with each other and eventually come to an agreement, which is where we are now, which is Harry is not a part of any type of conversation.”
Meyer, 62, was hired by the MLBPA in 2018, having previously worked for the player unions for the NFL, NBA and NHL in a career of over 30 years. Late last week, he released a statement defending his recent performance, which Drellich relayed at The Athletic. He spoke of the union navigating the COVID shutdown as well as the MLBPA negotiating the latest CBA throughout a lockdown of more than three months initiated by the league. He highlighted that the CBA featured increased minimum salaries, a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, increases of the luxury tax thresholds, measures to disincentive both tanking and service time manipulation, and many other elements.
How the union proceeds after this tumultuous period remains to be seen. The current CBA expires December 1, 2026.
Marino power play likely being pushed by ownership to create dissent. Move on from him.
It could simply be an opportunistic play for power during a difficult offseason. It failed and it sounds like they’re moving on.
…Something players don’t want to deal with in-season. The tides have also shifted back to Clark it appears.
Sounds to me more like more than a few players/agents were not able to extort ridiculous amounts and refused to take personal responsibility for the failure, so blame someone else. sound familiar in today’s society?
“Marino power play”..Just give the union a complete pass on ignoring the majority of their membership, in favor of the Verlanders, Scherzers, Ohtanis and Harpers of MLB, right?
The biggest gains in the last CBA were for the younger players. Not for the superstars.
I think there might be genuine concern from players focussed on getting an MLB paycheck. They can’t afford to wait and wait like those focussed on maximising their guaranteed somewhere paycheck.
It’s why they voted against the Boras delegation and got the game rolling last CBA. A section of players needed to get paid. The Boras tactic of holding up the market is being perceived as burning them again here. The JD Davis situation could also be loosely thrown in. If Chapman gets it done earlier, JD is probably not going to an arb hearing. Hence his outburst at not being told about Chapman when there is perceivably no reason to tell him.
I think the lower tier might want the upper tier to move faster.
@Foppert Regardless of JD or Chapman the current rules still make it a possibility to happen. If a team does not want a player release him or if they feel the amount they re asking for is ridiculously high and they won’t ay release them. The arbitration process is not created for an extra escape clause.
Sure. It’s just that at the time of arbitration, if there was more certainty for him regarding his roster status, he has the opportunity to make a better decision on guaranteed v non guaranteed options.
To me, it’s possibly all about time. Maybe possibly sneakily MLB assisted with a view to a signing window entering the next CBA.
If you believe that in a league of guaranteed contracts thos is ok, how about if the arbitrator rules in the teams favor the player can cut ties with team and they lose all years of team control?? Obviously teams would be absolutely opposed as they should be. Which further solidifies the point this is a glaring loophole. It is also detrimental to the player as the team opted for arbitration opposed to letting them go, meanwhile free agency has long since started.
Ok. It’s sort of done though. The loophole is signed off and in the CBA, so for me, players have to work with it until the next one. I have no opinion on whether it’s fair or not. It’s just there.
Let’s get someone in here whose number one priority isn’t maintaining his beard for public display.
Tony Clark was such a meh player
MLBPA needs Meyer, a guy who has been through it all in other major sports and also a very important part of the last CBA negotiation. The MLBPA needs to be stronger and more prepared for the next CBA negotiation and Meyer is a key person in that process.
I think I speak for a lot of readers when I say… Wat
Shohei runs the entire empire
#MLBPeeA
MLBPA needs someone who will call the owners out on collusion. It party is Boras’ fault for getting these salaries so high, but if the owners aren’t colluding, why did it take so long for Snell, Chapman, Bellinger, Martinez, and others to sign? Why is Montgomery still out there? Owners are colluding to keep salaries and contract lengths down. They did the same thing in the late ‘00’s when Bonds, Jermaine Dye, and others with good talent couldn’t get signed and were forced into retirement, and nobody called the owners out because the union didn’t have strong leadership.
Most of the top revenue teams are dealing with some very expensive CBT issues. Two teams had their media revenue slashed this year while half the league has no idea what they will receive in media revenue in 2025. A weak market doesn’t automatically signal collusion. The players you listed all have too many flaws for the prices and long term deals they wanted.
So it is the owners collusion for not wanting to sign huge contracts to players with huge red flags? I was praying all winter that the Braves would not overpay for any of the players you mention.
“MLBPA needs someone who will call”…How about the union actually pursuing initiatives that don’t ignore the majority of their membership?…The fact that the MLBPA hasn’t pushed for 30 man rosters is egregious and inexcusable. You can make a strong case the game needs more rostered players to offset the rising numbers of in season injuries.
MLB Fan, as I have said before, as long as they let the agents run the show, the MLBPA is not looking out for the majority of players interests, and definitely not that of the game itself.
The owners should not be accused of collusion. I suspect most of the owners were reluctant to offer long term contracts because of the poor performance of many of the players who signed as free agents in recent years. The players who failed to live up to their salaries need to be held accountable for the slow market.
@Karensjr I don’t think this is collusion by teams or a fault of Boras. The climate was right for this with extensions of young controllable players being envogue and the uncertainty of TV deals. Add into the mix some players who all carried some question marks and it just seemed inevitable.
You’re right karensjer but the bots on this website always support the teams and MLB vs the MLBPA.
Even Ken Rosenthal said that all baseball GM’s have the same heritage and Wall Street backgrounds so they don’t have to collude, they all already think the same.
That statement does make it seem that way. But that also seems out of character for him. I have plenty of criticisms of Jack Flaherty, but he’s the one guy I expected to say whatever was on his mind. He has never shied away in the past no matter the backlash that came with it. The union must have a way of really turning the screws on guys or Flaherty is telling the truth.
Every union has ways of turning the screws on its members. If you do not believe that, you have never been in a union or you are very naive about how unions function. I do not consider Flaherty to be particularly intelligent and question what he says is the entire truth.
I also think he learned with age to give more measured answers. I was impressed with the way he matured over his last few years in St. Louis.
It’s easy to blurt out woke agendas and socially convenient political opinions. It’s another to take a true stand against a powerful opponent. I’m leaning towards the gutless assessment.
I feel most unions are corrupt and care very little for the interests of a majority of their membership. No surpise MLBPA is in the same boat. There is simply too much money involved and too little accountability.
Well regardless of what you feel, the facts are that there are numerous Federal Laws that hold Unions accountable. Many of these laws are unnecessary and at a cost to taxpayers. But since organized labor has become one of hot button issues that one of the two gestapho political artists use to pander to their base, they target them for their own political gain.
Woo!
Sorry….FFS I need to grow up.
The union leadership has been toothless for years. Clark is nothing more than an appeaser and a poor substitute for Marvin Miller. The players only have themselves to blame for being taken advantage of by the owners because they are too weak to vote out the rank and file leaders they have chosen to represent them.
MLB will Always be a sports league of the Haves and Have Nots. Without a salary cap that forces owners to spend a MINIMUM – There can never be any attempts at the illusion of parity
I don’t think owner collusion is the call. Teams face Tax issues past threshold. Being reluctant to agree to pay exorbitant salary with all risk on owners sound like proper mindset, to me anyway. Even the short agreements are heavily slanted. Owners pay. Players can opt out of contract. Kind of an oxymoron.
If player does well enough to justify his salary , he dumps the team and seeks better. If he stinks it up, or gets hurt, the player stays, gets overpaid for not performing and the ownership is stuck.
It’s easy to see why Organizations don’t want to commit a bazillion dollars for several years where downside is odds on favorite.
Only when the nonsense of team control is eliminated will there be parity. If you want the player, pay for his services during the years he is worth the money. Right now the system is set up to pay the players after those years are over and the mindset within the game has shifted so that front offices realize the players are no longer worth that money once they reach free agency. The system is broken.