Tigers Interested In Zack Greinke, Michael Pineda
The Tigers are “still in the mix” for free agent starters Zack Greinke and Michael Pineda, The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky reports (Twitter link). While the Tigers also re-signed Wily Peralta on a minor league deal earlier today, the club is clearly still interested in adding further reinforcements to its rotation, and using Peralta in his old swingman role.
Eduardo Rodriguez was signed to a five-year, $77MM deal back in November, thus giving Detroit a veteran arm to augment the promising young rotation trio of Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Matt Manning. Even with Peralta now in the fold as well, adding yet another full-time starter would give the Tigers more depth in the event of injury, or if any of the younger hurlers aren’t quite yet ready to deliver at the Major League level. Neither Greinke or Pineda are exactly sure things themselves, of course, but they do bring plenty of experience to a Tigers team that plans to return to contention.
Greinke’s 17.2% strikeout rate last season was his lowest since 2006, while his 17.4% home run rate was the highest of his 18-year career. The veteran righty also missed time due to both neck soreness and the COVID-related injury list during the last two months of the season, and thus the Astros only used Greinke on a sparing and limited basis during their postseason run.
This said, Greinke was still an effective pitcher overall, posting an elite 5.2% walk rate and solid hard-contact numbers en route to a 4.16 ERA over 171 innings for Houston. Even as Greinke enters his age-38 season, there is plenty of indication that he can still be a strong contributor to a big league rotation, though his days of being an All-Star caliber starter are probably over.
Pineda is only 33, but carries more durability questions than Greinke. Three separate IL stints limited Pineda to 109 1/3 innings with the Twins last season, and he also missed all of 2018 recovering from a Tommy John surgery. When Pineda did pitch last year, he performed well via the bottom-line number of a 3.62 ERA, though his Statcast metrics were much less flattering, apart from an outstanding 4.6% walk rate. Pineda had some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball, and his 19.2% strikeout rate was both well below the league average and the worst K% of Pineda’s eight big league seasons.
It would certainly seem likely that either Greinke or Pineda would be available on a one-year contract, which would fit a Detroit club that could be looking for more supplementary pieces after already spending big on E-Rod and Javier Baez. MLBTR ranked Greinke 40th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents and projected him for a one-year, $15MM deal. Pineda signed two-year deals with the Twins in each of his last two visits to the open market, though both of those contracts (worth $10MM and $20MM, respectively) were impacted by his Tommy John recovery and the 60-game PED suspension that cost him parts of the 2019 and 2020 season.
Tigers To Sign Andrew Chafin
The Tigers have an agreement with lefty reliever Andrew Chafin, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Chafin’s contract will be a two-year deal in the $13MM range, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. That is indeed the contract value, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network, who notes the inclusion of an opt-out after 2022. Chafin is represented by Meister Sports Management.
Chafin, 31, posted a career-best 1.83 ERA in 68 2/3 innings for the Cubs and Athletics in 2021. Though his 24.1 K% was down from previous years, he also managed a career-best 7.1 BB%. Chafin was tough on both righties and lefties in ’21, and actually posted a significantly higher strikeout rate against righties. Though Chafin is not known for his velocity or spin rate, his Statcast metrics regarding quality of contact are excellent.
Chafin was drafted 43rd overall by the Diamondbacks out of Kent State back in 2011. He’s made 66+ appearances in a season five different times, leading all MLB relievers with 225 appearances from 2017-19. In facing 263 lefty batters since 2019, Chafin has posted an 18.3 K-BB% against them while allowing a .225/.290/.317 batting line.
According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck, the relative proximity to Chafin’s Ohio home was an advantage for Detroit. The Chafin signing is another move toward respectability for the Tigers in an offseason full of them. The club committed $217MM to Javier Baez and Eduardo Rodriguez prior to the lockout, also trading for catcher Tucker Barnhart. Chafin joins a Tigers bullpen that is slated to include holdovers Gregory Soto, Michael Fulmer, Jose Cisnero, Alex Lange, and Kyle Funkhouser.
In February of last year, the Cubs signed Chafin to a one-year, $2.75MM deal. Near the July trade deadline, he was dealt to Oakland for minor leaguers Greg Deichmann and Daniel Palencia.
Three other lefty relievers have signed two-year deals this winter. Aaron Loup received a $17MM deal from the Angels, while Brooks Raley got $10MM from the Rays and Jake Diekman got $8MM from the Red Sox. Brad Hand, Matt Strahm, T.J. McFarland, and Joely Rodriguez inked one-year pacts. Here’s a look at the lefty relievers still remaining in free agency.
Tigers Re-Sign Wily Peralta
The Tigers have brought right-hander Wily Peralta back to the organization on a minor league contract, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter). He’ll compete for a roster spot in big league camp after a solid showing in Detroit last year. Peralta would earn a $2.5MM base salary if he makes the roster, per Petzold, with the opportunity to pick up another $500K worth of incentives.
Peralta, 32, had a strong return to the Majors last season after not pitching in the Majors in 2020 and logging a 5.80 ERA in 40 innings with Kansas City in 2019. The former Brewers hurler went from minor league signee to a regular member in the Detroit rotation, making 18 starts (plus one relief appearance) and pitching to a 3.07 ERA in 93 2/3 innings. The underlying metrics weren’t nearly as rosy, as Peralta posted a just a 14.4% strikeout rate against a 9.5% walk rate. He kept more than half his batted balls on the ground, but metrics like FIP (4.94) and SIERA (5.27) don’t paint an especially optimistic portrait.
That’s likely a large reason that, in spite of a glowing 2021 ERA, Peralta had to settle for a nonguaranteed contract in free agency. That said, while Peralta isn’t promised a roster spot, he ought to have a decent chance at making the roster after making a good impression on the organization last year.
The Tigers’ Opening Day rotation figures to included Eduardo Rodriguez, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, but things are less certain thereafter. Righty Matt Manning, a longtime top prospect, was hit hard in his MLB debut last year but will still have a chance to win a spot. Prospects Joey Wentz and Alex Faedo could eventually be options, but both are returning from Tommy John surgery.
It’s quite possible that the Tigers will add another veteran starter to join the ranks, thus pushing Peralta and Manning into a competition for the fifth spot on the staff. For the time being, Peralta seemingly has a better chance at cracking the roster than your average non-roster player in Spring Training.
Astros Step Up Efforts To Re-Sign Carlos Correa
MARCH 15: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that the Astros plan on making Correa a new offer “shortly.” He adds that the rumors are “creating buzz in camp” and quotes a source as saying “Players can’t stop talking about it.”
MARCH 14: The Astros “have stepped up efforts to bring back Correa to the point where owner team owner Jim Crane is involved,” according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Late Sunday, the door seemingly closed on the Yankees (if it was ever open), as they acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Twins. Late Sunday, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic speculated about whether Correa could choose to sign a record AAV one-year deal this month, concluding “the idea is not necessarily far-fetched.”
MARCH 13: In another update, Crane tells Mark Berman that the Astros are “in discussions” with Correa’s representatives.
MARCH 11: Free agency is back, and the still-unsigned Carlos Correa will return to the forefront of the market as he angles for a contract north of the 10-year, $325MM deal Corey Seager signed in Texas prior to the lockout. Correa’s former team, the Astros, has yet to completely move on from the possibility of keeping him in Houston. Owner Jim Crane told Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston last night that the team plans to circle back to Correa now that the market has reopened (Twitter link).
“I’m sure we’ll engage one more time and we’ll see what happens,” says Crane. “Carlos is a great player. He’s a one-of-a-kind player. I thought we made a good offer before. We’ll see where they’re at on their side. I’m sure we’ll talk to them shortly.”
The prior offer referenced by Crane was reported by Berman back in November to be five years and $160MM — a hefty sum but one that always felt well shy of where Correa’s eventual payday would land. Correa has already reportedly received and rejected a 10-year, $275MM offer from the Tigers, which only serves to underscore the manner in which the ‘Stros would need to substantially alter their own proposal in order to keep him in the fold.
On the subject of that Tigers offer, which came prior to Detroit’s eventual signing of Javier Baez, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi adds some additional context. Detroit not only put forth a guaranteed $275MM sum but also included three opt-out clauses over the life of the deal, in addition to an annual bonus of $10MM for finishing in the top five of MVP voting. Correa’s sights have been more focused on topping Seager and possibly on topping Francisco Lindor‘s $341MM guarantee with the Mets, however. He reportedly sought $330MM or more prior to the lockout.
There’s been some speculation that, in light of a sizable offer from the Tigers, perhaps Detroit could follow the Rangers’ lead and ultimately sign two of the market’s top shortstops this winter. Baez has plenty of experience at second base and third base, and the Tigers’ payroll is largely free and clear once Miguel Cabrera plays out the final two years of his current deal. Baez and fellow offseason signee Eduardo Rodriguez are the only players on the books in 2024 and beyond, and it’s possible that even Baez won’t be around by that point. His contract contains an opt-out clause after the 2023 season.
However, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden reports that Tigers owner Chris Ilitch is not comfortable with another contract of that magnitude hitting the books, which throws some cold water on the possibility of a Baez/Correa double-play tandem. That’s a particularly unsurprising revelation in light of this week’s report that Ilitch was one of four owners who initially voted against even raising the league’s proposed luxury-tax threshold to $220MM. (It eventually landed at $230MM in 2022, and it should be noted that the new CBA was ultimately unanimously approved among the 30 owners.)
Morosi indicates within his column that the Cubs are expected to be among the prominent players for Correa, as they already had plenty of dialogue with his camp prior to the lockout. Of course, Correa switched representation and enlisted the Boras Corporation to represent him during the lockout, so much of that groundwork may need to be redone. The Cubs, like the Tigers, have ample payroll space and could stand to upgrade at shortstop.
Signing Correa, though, wouldn’t really mesh with president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s early comments on Chicago’s offseason trajectory. Hoyer dubbed pitching to be the team’s primary focus — the Cubs have since added Wade Miley and Marcus Stroman — and also preached the importance of “spending intelligently.” Generally, Hoyer struck a measured tone when discussing offseason spending. The Stroman contract illustrates that this isn’t a Cubs team looking to completely tear down and tank for multiple years as it did in the run-up to 2016’s World Series crown, but there’s a pronounced difference between signing Stroman on a three-year term and shelling out the decade-long deal and $33MM+ annual salary that Correa is hoping to command.
Tigers Sign Chase Anderson, Ryan Lavarnway To Minor League Deals
The Tigers have signed Chase Anderson to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to big league Spring Training, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. Additionally, veteran backstop Ryan Lavarnway announced on Instagram he has signed with Detroit. Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets that’s also a minors deal with an NRI to MLB camp.
Anderson, 34, has been a durable member of big league rotations dating back to 2014. Never an overpowering arm, Anderson nevertheless outperformed his peripherals for a few seasons with the D-Backs and Brewers. The changeup specialist threw plenty of strikes and generally avoided hard contact en route to an ERA right around 4.00 for much of his early career. He even posted a 2.74 mark over 141 1/3 innings with the Brew Crew in 2017 and remained a solid starter through 2019.
The past couple seasons have been tough for the University of Oklahoma product. Despite career-best strikeout and swinging strike rates with the Blue Jays in 2020, he was tagged for a 7.22 ERA in 33 2/3 innings, allowing a staggering 11 longballs in that time. The Phillies rolled the dice on a bounceback, guaranteeing Anderson $4MM in hopes he’d right the ship. He continued to struggle in Philadelphia, though, working 48 innings of 6.75 ERA ball.
Philadelphia released Anderson in late August. He caught on with the Rangers on a minor league deal but didn’t get another look at the highest level. He’ll take another crack at it this spring with Detroit, which has an uncertain group at the back of the rotation. At present, Tyler Alexander looks the favorite for the #5 starter’s job behind Casey Mize, Eduardo Rodríguez, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning. Alex Faedo and Joey Wentz are the top depth options, but neither has yet appeared in the majors. Of course, Detroit could still add to the rotation over the next three weeks.
A quintessential third catcher, Lavarnway has appeared in the big leagues in ten of the past eleven seasons. He has tallied 486 cumulative plate appearances, hitting .217/.272/.345 with nine home runs. The righty-hitting backstop played in nine games with Cleveland last season. He spent more time with their top affiliate in Columbus, posting a .260/.338/.520 mark in 199 Triple-A plate appearances.
Tigers Sign Drew Hutchison, Ramon Rosso To Minor League Deals
The Tigers have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with righty Drew Hutchison, announced the team.
Hutchison, 31, made nine appearances for the Tigers in 2021 in his first Major League action since 2018. Hutchison had signed a minor league deal in February of last year. He made a pair of starts for the Tigers in August and then spent September working in long relief. Prior to that, Hutchison made 19 starts in Triple-A with a 23.5 K%, 10.8 BB%, and 41.2 GB%.
Hutchison made 32 starts in a solid sophomore season with the Blue Jays back in 2014, even garnering the club’s Opening Day start the following year. He wasn’t able to stick in the Jays’ rotation in 2015, though, and was traded to the Pirates for Francisco Liriano at the 2016 deadline. He was booted off the Pirates’ 40-man roster in September of ’17, electing free agency and signing a minor league deal with the Phillies the following February. He made that team out of camp, but lost his 40-man spot by June. He then moved to the Dodgers on a minor league deal, quickly opting out and signing with the Rangers. Hutchison spent 2019 with the Yankees, Twins, and Angels’ Triple-A affiliates before resurfacing with the Tigers a year ago.
Detroit also signed reliever Ramon Rosso to a minors contract. The 25-year-old righty made seven appearances with the Phillies in each of the last two seasons. He owns a 6.11 ERA in 17 2/3 MLB innings but averaged 95.2 MPH on his fastball last year.
Quick Hits: Lyles, Rangers, Dodgers, Bassitt, Blue Jays, Anibal, Erasmo, Teheran
After a few months in limbo, Jordan Lyles‘ one-year contract with the Orioles finally became official today. The righty reached an agreement with the O’s just hours before the lockout halted all offseason business, and thus Lyles wasn’t able to get a physical and fully finalize his new contract. Lyles will receive $7MM in guaranteed money, which breaks down as a $500K signing bonus and a $5.5MM salary for 2022, as per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). This would also mean that there is a $1MM buyout of Baltimore’s club option on Lyles for 2023, and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that the Orioles’ option is worth $11MM.
More from around baseball….
- Top Rangers prospect Josh Jung could miss the entire season due to shoulder surgery, and the Rangers traded Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Twins earlier today. Despite these two losses, Rangers president of operations Jon Daniels told reporters (including Jeff Wilson) that the club wasn’t intending to make a big investment at third base going forward. This would mean that Texas is going to roll with internal options like Yonny Hernandez, Andy Ibanez, Nick Solak or possibly some minor league infielders that could make their MLB debuts at some point in the season. Or, given how aggressive the Rangers have been in revamping their roster this winter, it could be that Daniels was just engaging in some gamesmanship, and is on the lookout for some more established third base help.
- The Dodgers had interest in Chris Bassitt before the lockout, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. It isn’t known whether Los Angeles got in touch with the A’s about Bassitt again once the transactions freeze was lifted, but it’s now a moot point, as the A’s dealt Bassitt to the Mets earlier today. With Bassitt off the table, starting pitching continues to be a target for the Dodgers, even after re-signing Clayton Kershaw on Friday and adding Andrew Heaney back in November.
- Pitching has also been the Blue Jays‘ primary offseason focus to date, with the Jays signing Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi, and also locking up Jose Berrios to a contract extension. However, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Toronto will likely still explore infielders in trades and signings. It has been assume that the Jays will target a second or third baseman this winter, with some combination of Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal handling whichever infield spot isn’t covered by a new arrival.
- Free agent hurlers Anibal Sanchez, Julio Teheran, and Erasmo Ramirez all threw during a showcase for scouts today in Miami, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). One unknown team was impressed enough by Sanchez’s performance that they made a contract offer to the veteran right-hander almost immediately after he left the mound. The Nationals (as per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post) and Tigers (as per MLB.com’s Jason Beck) were among the teams who had evaluators at the showcase, though it isn’t known if this was just due diligence or because of a specific interest in any of the three pitchers. Sanchez is both a former National and a former Tiger, while both Teheran and Ramirez pitched for Detroit just last season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/12/22
Catching up on some of the minor league signings on a busy day of transactions…
Latest Moves
- The Reds are releasing Alfredo Rodriguez, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (via Twitter). Rodriguez was a highly-regarded member of the 2016-17 international signing class, and Cincinnati paid a hefty $7MM bonus to land the Cuban infielder. However, Rodriguez never produced much in the Reds’ farm system, hitting .260/.310/.321 with eight home runs over 1758 career minor league plate appearances.
Earlier Today
- The Tigers signed righty Miguel Diaz to a minor league deal, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). Diaz will be invited to the club’s MLB Spring Training camp, and he’ll earn $800K if he makes Detroit’s big league roster. A Rule 5 Draft acquisition out of the Brewers’ farm system in 2016, Diaz posted a 6.62 ERA over 66 2/3 innings with San Diego from 2017-19 before knee surgery put him on the shelf for much of the 2019 campaign. Returning to the Show in 2021, Diaz had a much more respectable 3.64 ERA over 42 relief innings for the Padres last season, but had trouble limiting home runs and walks. This led the Padres outright Diaz following the season, and he elected free agency.
- The Dodgers have signed right-hander Reyes Moronta to a minor league deal and invited him to their big league Spring Training camp, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio reports. Moronta will lock in a $1.5MM salary if he makes Los Angeles’ active roster, adds ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. A shoulder surgery sidelined Moronta for the entire 2020 season and he made only four appearances this past year for the Giants before a flexor strain sent to the injured list and then the minors for the bulk of the 2021 campaign. San Francisco outrighted him off its 40-man roster after the season and Moronta opted to test free agency, and the 29-year-old will now get a chance to revive his career wit the Giants’ chief NL West rival. Before injuries curtailed his production, Moronta had a very solid 2.66 ERA and 29.8% strikeout rate over 128 1/3 relief innings for the Giants in 2016-18, albeit with a 13.6% walk rate.
- The Marlins signed righty Jimmy Yacabonis to a minor league deal, as per young reporter Hayes Mish (off a tip from his father, Craig Mish of The Miami Herald). Yacabonis spent 2021 with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, marking the first season since 2016 that he hadn’t seen any big league action. Over 104 career MLB innings with the Orioles and Mariners, Yacabonis has a 5.71 ERA.
AL Central Notes: Twins, IKF, Tigers, Anderson, Boyd, White Sox
The Twins and Rangers combined on one of the most interesting early moves of the post-lockout period, agreeing to a trade earlier today that will see Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pitching prospect Ronny Henriquez head to Minnesota, while catcher Mitch Garver was dealt to Texas. Speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) about the deal, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the Twins were first in touch about Kiner-Falefa before the lockout, and Garver wasn’t initially part of trade talks until it became that such a notable price was necessary to pry Kiner-Falefa away from the Rangers.
While the presence of Ryan Jeffers ultimately made Garver expendable, Minnesota now has a new everyday shortstop, and a player who has generally looked like one of the league’s better defensive players no matter where Texas lined him up on the diamond. Kiner-Falefa said he is happy to be getting an opportunity to start at what he considers his natural position of shortstop, and his addition means that the Twins can now keep Jorge Polanco at second base.
More from around the AL Central…
- With Eduardo Rodriguez signed as the new headliner of the Tigers rotation, the team continues to look for more veteran help to fill a fourth or fifth starter role. According to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, the Tigers had interest in Tyler Anderson both before and after the lockout, though they are “not aggressively pursuing Anderson” at the moment. For some familiar AL Central names, Detroit is also not making a particular push towards free agent Michael Pineda, and the Tigers weren’t looking at Carlos Rodon before Rodon signed with the Giants yesterday.
- A former Tiger is under consideration, however, as Petzold writes that the Tigers are among the multiple clubs interested in Matthew Boyd, who was non-tendered by Detroit in November. Boyd’s projected $7.3MM arbitration price tag was too expensive for the Tigers considering that the southpaw was hampered by injuries last season and underwent flexor tendon surgery in September. Boyd’s recovery will extend into the season but he is aiming to return by June 1.
- “The pitching concerns might be a little heavier on our mind than the position player side of things,” White Sox GM Rick Hahn told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters in discussing his club’s remaining targets during the offseason. With so many available arms already flying off the board, Fegan guesses that bolstering the back end of the rotation now looks like a more immediately priority for the Sox than addressing other needs like second base or the outfield. White Sox manager Tony La Russa told Fegan and other reporters today that pitching depth will be particularly important this season given the shortened Spring Training, though La Russa said his club is still aiming for a five-man rotation rather than a six-man staff.
Four Owners Voted Against MLB’s Most Recent CBA Offer
March 4: Angels owner Arte Moreno, D-backs owner Ken Kendrick, Reds owner Bob Castellini and Tigers owner Chris Ilitch were all opposed to proposing a $220MM CBT threshold, per Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Drellich and Rosenthal add that some concerned owners have pointed to the spending of the Dodgers and the Mets as reasons for trepidation with pushing the luxury tax threshold further north. Martino tweets, rather unsurprisingly, that the Mets and the Yankees are among the teams open to a “less punitive” CBT setup.
The Athletic report also indicates that the players were particularly irritated when MLB proposed counting the cost of player meals against the luxury tax. Whether that’s among the issues recently raised by Blue Jays righty Ross Stripling isn’t clear, but Stripling contended that the league “tried to sneak some shit past us” in the proposal’s “fine print” during the wee hours of Monday night/Tuesday morning negotiations. Health insurance and other player benefits already count toward the luxury tax under the terms of the prior CBA. League special assistant Glen Caplin called reports of MLB trying to include meal money within the CBT “grossly mischaracterized” as part of a statement included in Drellich’s article.
March 3: Major League Baseball’s most recent offer in collective bargaining proved unpalatable to the Players Association, which rejected it despite knowing the league was likely to follow by canceling some regular season games. Various members of union leadership described that as an easy decision, with the MLBPA particularly dissatisfied with the league’s proposals on the competitive balance tax thresholds and the amount of money that would be allotted for the pre-arbitration bonus pool.
While the union found the offer too slanted in favor of the league, some on the MLB side apparently viewed the proposal as going too far towards the players’ asks. Andy Martino of SNY reports that during a video call between all 30 ownership groups and MLB leadership, four owners voted against the terms of the league’s final offer to the union on Tuesday. MLB needs approval from 23 of the 30 ownership groups to agree to their end of a new CBA, so the league was able to proceed with its offer with the assent of the other 26 owners.
Obviously, the terms of that deal weren’t sufficient to get the union’s approval. Yet some of the owners who were on-board with the league’s proposal Tuesday are evidently hesitant to move any further in the players’ direction. Martino writes that the call “made it clear” that more owners would oppose any offer that pushes the base CBT threshold above the $220MM mark the league put forth. The MLBPA, meanwhile, proposed a $238MM base tax marker in 2022. Martino writes that the union refuses to entertain any offer with a 2022 tax threshold lower than $230MM.
There’s currently an $18MM gap on the luxury tax for 2022, and the parties are even more divided on the marker’s long-term future. The MLBPA has sought more rapid escalation of the threshold over the term of a potential CBA than the league has offered. Under the parties’ latest terms, the $18MM gap would rise to a $33MM divide by 2026 — the players were looking to set that year’s figure at $263MM, while MLB proposed $230MM for that season.
Martino’s report sheds some light on the challenges that remain for finding a mutually agreeable settlement on the CBT, which has proven perhaps the biggest sticking point in negotiations. The union has pursued a rapid expansion of the threshold, pointing to team spending habits suggesting the CBT has served as a de facto salary cap for clubs. Last season, five teams finished with CBT payrolls within $5MM of the $210MM base threshold. Two clubs, the Dodgers and Padres, pushed their CBT number above $210MM. Given the union’s longstanding opposition to any form of salary cap, it’s little surprise they’ve sought to dramatically increase the numbers this time around.
The league, meanwhile, has pursued the opposite initiative. MLB’s early CBA proposals included harsher penalties for tax payors, provisions that would’ve presumably made clubs even more reluctant to do so. It dropped the push for tougher penalties this week, but it hasn’t shown the appetite for the kind of higher thresholds the union seeks.
As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes explored in December, the past two collective bargaining agreements have seen limited growth in the CBT thresholds. From the time of the tax’s introduction in 1997 through 2011, it wasn’t uncommon to see the CBT jump by more than 4% year over year. Since 2012, however, that growth has slowed considerably. The base CBT marker has moved from $178MM that year to $210MM last season, an average hike of less than 2% per year.
The league’s offer to move from $210MM to $220MM would represent a 4.8% year-over-year jump. MLB would presumably posit that’s a meaningful enough increase to be favorable to the players. However, it was followed by no movement on the tax in each of the following two years and minor increases in each of the two seasons thereafter. The union, meanwhile, seems intent on pulling in a more dramatic spike in the tax threshold to somewhat compensate for its slowed progression between 2012-21.
It’s not clear how many owners are inherently opposed to pushing that number beyond $220MM. Martino’s report hints at the conflicted interests that can arise among the ownership groups themselves. Presumably, some large-market clubs that are planning to exceed the CBT anyhow would be on-board with the union’s efforts to encourage penalty-free spending. Others could be anxious to draw a harder line, particularly with the league reportedly content to miss a month’s worth of regular season games in order to pressure the union to move in their direction.
If more than three of the owners who voted yes on MLB’s latest proposal are stringently opposed to going further, the league may be hard-pressed to find the votes to go past $220MM this year. That’d seemingly be unacceptable to the union. If there’s that kind of fundamental disagreement on the luxury tax, it’ll be essentially impossible for the sides to put a new CBA in place.