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.
