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Home , Chatham Anglers, Claudell Washington, John Altobelli, Luis Aponte, Tony Clark

The Sunday, June 14, 2020

* The Boston Globe

MLB players resigned in negotiations; owners depict them as entitled

Michael Silverman

In a sign of a complete communications breakdown, Major League players displayed profound frustration in rejecting the owners’ latest proposal Saturday night.

Saying that their stances “have fallen upon deaf ears,” union chief Tony Clark released a statement saying “it unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile. It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.”

The union and the commissioner’s office do agree that commissioner has the power to mandate a 2020 season of any length. Based on prior talks, it appears Manfred probably will come up with a regular-season plan of virtually the shortest length possible, around 50 games, beginning in July and ending by late September.

Presumably, the owners will agree to pay players the 100 percent prorated rate they agreed to March 26. The owners say approximately 50 games at 100 percent pay is the limit of their ability to absorb the revenue loss that will ensue from playing in front of no fans.

Prior proposals of 82, 76, and the latest, 72 games, all featured guaranteed percentages that essentially mirrored what owners would pay out at 50 games.

Late Saturday evening, MLB issued a rejoinder that displayed as much tension and ill will as Clark’s statement, which is saying something. MLB expressed its disappointment that “the MLBPA has chosen not to negotiate in good faith over resumption of play after MLB has made three successive proposals that would provide players, Clubs and our fans with an amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

MLB depicted the players as an entitled lot, that their claim “to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 season played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that Clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season. We will evaluate the Union’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the March Agreement, and after consulting with ownership, determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans.”

Clark’s statement reiterated the union’s consistent desire to abide by the March 26 agreement and play as many games as possible.

“Players agreed to billions in monetary concessions as a means to that end, and in the face of repeated media leaks and misdirection we made additional proposals to inject new revenues into the industry — proposals that would benefit the owners, players, broadcast partners, and fans alike,” the statement read.

The owners did not listen, and furthermore, said Clark, “In recent days, owners have decried the supposed unprofitability of owning a baseball team and the Commissioner has repeatedly threatened to schedule a dramatically shortened season unless players agree to hundreds of millions in further concessions.

“Our response has been consistent that such concessions are unwarranted, would be fundamentally unfair to players, and that our sport deserves the fullest 2020 season possible. These remain our positions today, particularly in light of new reports regarding MLB’s national television rights — information we requested from the league weeks ago but were never provided.”

The rejection, while expected, is the latest example of how the sport has problems that extend well beyond how to stitch together a baseball season during a pandemic.

Besides a season of dubious respectability given its length, another byproduct laid bare by the negotiations is how the relationship between the owners and players has unraveled even further, as evidenced by Clark’s statement, as well as industry sources.

The deteriorating tenor and lack of movement from entrenched positions offer a concerning bellwether for next winter’s CBA negotiations, one that will serve to increase concerns of a work stoppage that could threaten the 2022 season.

Attached to the owners’ third formal proposal Friday was an excoriating letter from Dan Halem, the commissioner’s office chief negotiator, to the Players’ Association’s chief negotiator, Bruce Meyer.

In the letter, Halem used biting sarcasm to call into question the union’s dedication to bargaining in good faith.

“I acknowledge up front that I must have misinterpreted your June 6th letter,” Halem wrote to Meyer, as reported by The Athletic and ESPN. “I thought the letter reflected a willingness on the part of the Association to discuss in good faith the economics necessary for the Office of the Commissioner to waive its right under the March Agreement to resume the 2020 season only when there are, among other things, no restrictions on fan access. After reviewing the Association’s counterproposal, I stand corrected.”

In the proposal embedded within the communique, the commissioner’s office offered the players a 72-game regular season where they would be paid between 70 percent (guaranteed) and 83 percent (if the postseason is completed) of their prorated 2020 salaries.

The amount of guaranteed money remains approximately the same — roughly a 30 percent reduction of prorated salaries — as what was offered in the owners’ prior proposals of 82- and 76-game schedules.

At the heart of the dispute is a March 26 agreement where the sides negotiated that the players would be paid 100 percent of their prorated salaries. The agreement contains a clause calling on the sides to discuss, not negotiate, in good faith alternative compensation if games are played before no fans.

The union says there has been discussion of alternative compensation, but that the players are under no obligation to negotiate off of 100 percent without first being convinced by financial information from the owners, details which have not been provided.

Halem went right at the union on the matter.

“We are convinced that the Association has purposely failed to fulfill its obligations under the March Agreement, and has deprived the Clubs the benefit of their bargain in the March Agreement, all while continuing to enjoy the lucrative benefits the Clubs agreed to provide the Association in return,” wrote Halem according to The Athletic. “. . . This failure to act in good faith has caused enormous damage to the sport.”

In a statement, a Players Association spokesperson offered a tart retort: “Mr. Halem’s self-serving letter is filled with inaccuracies and incomplete facts. We will respond to that and the league’s latest proposal in short order. It should not be forgotten however that even MLB admits that our March Agreement does not require players to agree to further pay cuts. Indeed, as Mr. Halem agreed in a May 18 letter to [union executive director] Tony Clark: ‘The Association is free to take the position that players are unwilling to accept further reductions.’ Pat Houlihan, MLB legal counsel, similarly acknowledged in his May 22 letter to the Players Association: ‘We agree with the Association that, under the Agreement, players are not required to accept less than their full prorated salary.’ ’’

No cracks have emerged in the players’ resolve to stick by the March 26 agreement and be paid their full prorated salaries versus share the burden with the owners for the revenue losses that would ensue by playing in front of no fans. Besides the March 26 agreement, central to the players’ stance is that they are the ones assuming the physical risks of reentering the workforce at a moment when COVID-19 is still, to varying degrees, affecting wide swaths of the country.

The players are concerned that the owners are trying to divide their ranks with an eye toward hammering out a more favorable collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires on Dec. 1, 2021.

By not abandoning hardened positions, each side is essentially flexing its approach to the next round of CBA talks.

In their prior two proposals, which have gone from 114 to 89 games, the players agreed to the owners’ desire to expand the playoffs, with the number of teams to increase from the current 10 to as many as 16. The players do acknowledge that the March 26 agreement empowers Manfred to impose a schedule. Expanding the playoffs cannot be unilaterally imposed based on the current CBA.

Should MLB establish a short season of approximately 50 games, the players can be expected to withdraw their support for an expanded postseason.

The owners do not want the playoffs to extend into November, which is what the players’ earlier scenarios proposed. One reason is the owners’ team of experts forecast a surge in COVID-19 cases when the weather turns cooler and threaten to not allow the postseason, a rich source of revenue because of national television contracts, to be completed.

Good time for baseball to try some rules changes

Peter Abraham

There will be a baseball season one way or another. Commissioner Rob Manfred has the power to mandate the players to return, but his preference would be to make a deal with the Players Association.

The reasons for that are plentiful, starting with clearing the path for the sides to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement before the 2022 season.

But Major League Baseball also needs to work with the union on rules changes, and a shortened season would be a good time to experiment. If a season is forced on them, the players are unlikely to cooperate with other matters.

Some new rules are already in place. A 26-man roster was approved along with a three-batter minimum for . Position players won’t be allowed to pitch until extra innings or if a team is leading or trailing by at least six runs.

A shorter season would be a good time to try some new things and compile data to determine whether it would improve the game over a full season. It also would provide a sense for how the fans feel, and presumably that would be part of the equation for future seasons.

Here are some of the changes that have been proposed in recent years:

Adjusting replay reviews — Managers will have only 20 seconds to decide whether to challenge a call this season instead of 30. That’s a plus. But there is growing sentiment to take those decisions out of the hands of the managers and have a fifth determine which calls should be reviewed.

The original intent of replay was to correct egregiously blown calls. But it has become a time-wasting nuisance with teams challenging calls when a runner comes off the tag a quarter inch after being called safe.

The replay review system also provides teams with a handy way to steal signs. Shut down the video during games and other problems will be taken care of, too.

Automated strike zone — The technology isn’t quite there for MLB use, but it’s getting close. “Robot umps” will call balls and strikes at some point in the next few years. The game should speed up if the strike zone is called by the rulebook definition.

Bonus batter — , the esteemed writer, has long advocated the idea that teams should be allowed to pick any player to pinch hit once a game.

J.D. Martinez, as an example, could strike out with the bases loaded and then come right back up. Or a hitter could come out of the game for a pinch runner in the eighth inning then come back up in the ninth.

Verducci believes the best players should get more chances to change the game, which is how it works in other sports. It also would add a thick layer of strategy.

It’s too gimmicky for my tastes and would cut down on having unlikely heroes win games, something that makes baseball fun. There would be clubhouse issues, too. Pulling an accomplished player out of the game so a superstar can get another at-bat will lead to a lot of hard feelings.

Extra-inning tiebreaker — The last World Baseball Classic put a runner on second base to start the 11th inning in an effort to avoid long games. It also sparked a good strategic debate about whether to bunt the runner to third or swing away.

It makes sense in tournament play, but not so much in the regular season. Games that go beyond the 12th or 13th inning are interesting or tedious depending on your individual taste. I love them.

Infield shifts — This was an ongoing conversation I had with the late Nick Cafardo. He advocated banning radical shifts to create more offense. My view was that it was incumbent on the batter to find a way to beat them.

But I am coming around to the idea of every play starting with at least two fielders on each side of second base. Too many hitters try to beat shifts with home runs. It leads to more or hard ground balls into the shift.

Shifts are boring. But do you want to penalize teams for preparing well?

Mercy rule — Many amateur leagues will call the game after seven innings if the score is lopsided. But in pro ball, it’s problematic. Hitters want their at-bats to accumulate statistics. It’s also not fair to reward a trailing team with not having to use pitchers for two innings.

Pitch clock — It’s already in use in the minors without many issues and once it gets to the majors, only veteran pitchers will complain. It’s reasonable to think a can find a way to get on the mound and into his delivery in 20 seconds. All the fidgeting and looking around doesn’t accomplish anything except to annoy every other person in the ballpark.

Position players pitching — It should be a fun thing, seeing a position player come in to pitch every once in a while in a lopsided game. But teams set on tanking (the Orioles, for instance) used it strategically and MLB put in limits.

There were more than 50 position players who pitched last season. It got out of hand.

Roster limits — This has finally been fixed with a 26-man limit for the regular season and 28 in September. The limits are likely to expand this season because of the unusual circumstances.

Cutting down on the September roster expansion will improve the game significantly. That the most important games of the season were played under different rules never made sense.

Three-batter minimum — This is a well-intentioned idea to speed up the game by reducing pitching changes. But teams were getting away from one-batter specialists and my guess is this rule will not last. It will cause more problems than it solves.

Timeouts — Instead of counting mound visits and determining what constitutes a mound visit, one proposal would be to have timeouts like other sports.

Give each team a set number — say four or five — and you can’t stop the action without using one. Do away with shortstops running over to pat the pitcher on the back every time he falls behind, 3 and 0, in the count.

Universal designated hitter — It will likely happen this season and probably will stay in place. Purists will hate it, but it only makes sense at this point.

National League pitchers hit .131 with a .329 OPS last season and struck out in 43 percent of their plate appearances.

The poor pitchers who had to hit in interleague games had a hideous .087/.132/.090 slash line with one extra-base hit in 328 plate appearances.

The DH is used throughout baseball, with the NL one of the few holdouts. Enough is enough.

Wired-up players — This is not a rules change. Call it improving the product.

Some players in and at the All-Star Game wear small wireless microphones and their chatter with teammates and opponents is used on the television broadcast.

It’s a lot of fun and in some cases highly entertaining. Baseball offers built-in breaks that allow the players to talk, and the sport should take advantage of that.

It would allow players to show their personalities, too. Obviously delays should be built in and broadcasters would need to be careful with what goes on the air. But baseball should be at the forefront of doing this, not trailing behind.

TRENDING NOW Jordan was interesting pick

Blaze Jordan, whom the Red Sox took in the third round of the draft, has been famous for a few years now.

He hit a 395-foot home at Globe Life Park when he was 11, has worked out with Albert Pujols, and accepted a scholarship offer to Mississippi State when he was in the eighth grade.

Jordan is a regular on the showcase circuit, traveling around the country for events at big league parks. His Instagram account has 82,100 followers and one YouTube video of his power-hitting exploits has been viewed 4.1 million times.

Jordan also played for the Dulins Dodgers, an amateur program that counts Mookie Betts as one of its alums.

MLB incorporated a high school division into the Derby a few years ago. Jordan won the contest last year, hitting a series of bombs at Progressive Field when he was 16. Betts was there to hug him at the end.

It was fun to watch, but I remember thinking at the time that it can’t be good for development purposes to have high school kids swinging out of their cleats like that.

But the kind of raw power and bat speed Jordan has can’t be taught, and the Sox couldn’t resist taking him with the 89th overall pick.

“We were thrilled,” director of amateur scouting Paul Toboni said. “He’s a unique talent. A ton of power upside.”

Jordan is 17, so he has ample time to refine his swing. But how will his fame translate to the decidedly non- glamorous world of the minors?

“I haven’t thought a ton about whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing for him,” Toboni said. “But what we did think a good bit about was how he handled that notoriety, and for me, the kid is mature beyond his years.”

A few other observations on the Red Sox:

▪ J.J. Altobelli is a southern area scout for the Sox. His father, stepmother, and 13-year-old sister were among the nine people killed when ’s helicopter crashed in January.

It fell to Altobelli, who joined the Sox as a scout in 2018, to represent his family in the wake of the tragedy and help care for his 16-year-old sister, Alexis.

He also kept working. Altobelli did much of the in-person scouting of University of Hawaii lefthander Jeremy Wu-Yelland, and the Sox took him in the fourth round.

“J.J. really drove it with how well he communicated,” Toboni said. “He’s had such a tough year. He showed me how strong someone can be. His sister, Lexi, too, and his fiancée, Carly. They taught me so much this year.”

In the days when the draft was conducted via a conference call, the Sox would have dedicated Wu- Yelland’s selection in honor of the Altobelli family.

John Altobelli, J.J.’s father, was a longtime junior college coach and also managed in the League.

▪ Dante Ricciardi, a 24-year-old scout who joined the Sox in February, took point on the selection of Florida State lefthander Shane Drohan in the fifth round. His passion about Drohan’s potential helped sell the pick.

Dante, the son of longtime MLB executive J.P. Ricciardi, is a West Boylston native who finished his college career at Bryant.

Drohan is an interesting selection in that he pitched only 73⅓ innings in college and was the quarterback of his high school football team, which limited his innings during those years. For a college junior, he has a lot of development left.

▪ In retrospect, MLB was too severe in taking a second-round pick away from the Red Sox as punishment for the 2018 sign-stealing infractions.

Rob Manfred’s report came out April 22. The draft was reduced to five rounds on May 8. MLB should have adjusted the penalty at that point.

Losing one of five picks was a far bigger setback to the organization than one of 40, especially when you consider even MLB acknowledges it’s not sure if the Sox actually broke the rules or how much they benefited if they did.

▪ In its coverage of the draft, ESPN and MLB Network tried to copy what worked so well during the NFL Draft by dropping in camera shots of general managers in their offices.

Chaim Bloom was shown in his office at Fenway Park on a few occasions over two days and used those moments to make a point.

One of the photos behind him was of Pumpsie Green, the organization’s first Black player. Another showed Dr. Martin Luther King with Abraham Joshua Heschel, a noted Jewish theologian and philosopher.

Heschel marched for civil rights with King in Selma, Ala., in 1965.

RELATED: Red Sox president Sam Kennedy discussed the team’s statement on racist incidents at Fenway Park Bloom also displayed a placard MLB sent to teams for the broadcast. It said “Black Lives Matter. United for Change.” That came from an idea Cubs president Theo Epstein had.

Epstein and other executives also combined to donate $311,000 to five organizations that work for racial justice, including the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

MLB matched the donation and in all more than a $1 million was raised.

ETC. Full career for Washington

Claudell Washington, who died Wednesday at the age of 65, didn’t play high school baseball and was signed by the Athletics for $3,000 after a scout watched him play sandlot games.

He helped Oakland win the 1974 as a 20-year-old and was an All-Star in ’75. In all, Washington played 17 years for seven teams.

Hall of Famer struck him out 39 times, nine times more than any other player.

Remember when Ferris Bueller caught a foul ball at Wrigley Field? It was Washington who hit it, or at least that was the footage used in the movie.

Extra bases As baseball tries to fashion a season, it should want to get the World Series done before Nov. 1. So much attention will be on the Nov. 3 presidential election that the games will be an afterthought. Baseball also would run the risk of games being played in cities where violence could break out after the election … Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. told a St. Louis radio station that baseball “isn’t very profitable, to be quite honest.” He purchased the team for $150 million in 1995 and it is now worth an estimated $2.2 billion. But that’s not profitable, apparently … The Blue Jays are soon going to be a problem in the American League East. Vanderbilt infielder Austin Martin, who many scouts considered the best all-around prospect in the draft, fell to them at No. 5. The 21-year-old will soon join a position player group that includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (21), Cavan Biggio (25), and Bo Bichette (22) … The Indians took 21-year- old lefthander Logan Allen in the second round of the draft. The Indians already have 23-year-old lefthander Logan Allen on their 40-man roster. They’re both Florida natives. The Blue Jays took Louisville Zach Britton in the fifth round. Perhaps he’ll face lefthander Zack Britton of the Yankees someday … Happy birthday to Luis Aponte, who is 67. The righthander from Venezuela was 8-6 with a 3.02 ERA in 85 relief appearances for the Red Sox from 1980-83 before being traded to the Indians.

* The Boston Herald

Red Sox selection of Hawaii LHP Jeremy Wu-Yelland a ‘special moment’ for scout J.J. Altobelli

Steve Hewitt

J.J. Altobelli was with his fiancé Carly at their home in Southern California on Thursday night, watching MLB Network’s coverage of the draft and monitoring the final rounds, when he received a call from Dan Madsen, a Red Sox scouting cross-checker on the west coast.

It was close to 6 p.m. local time and the Red Sox were about to make their fourth-round draft choice at No. 118 overall. Altobelli, a West Coast area scout for the Red Sox, knew a call from Madsen likely meant a player he scouted was at least in the discussion to be taken.

Sure enough, Madsen was calling to tell Altobelli that the Red Sox were about to select Jeremy Wu- Yelland, a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher from the University of Hawaii who he had been scouting since 2018.

In most cases, a pick like that would fall under the radar. But this choice meant more. A lot more.

For Altobelli, the moment was even more special because of what he’s been through this year. On Jan. 26, Altobelli’s father, John, stepmother, Keri, and sister, Alyssa, died in the helicopter crash that also claimed former NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna. John was a longtime college baseball coach who spent 27 years at in California, and was one of the most respected amateur baseball coaches in the country.

The moment wasn’t lost inside the Red Sox scouting department. In his post-draft remarks, first-year scouting director Paul Toboni made it a point to praise the work Altobelli did in the face of tragedy, and said that under normal draft circumstances — when draft picks would be announced internally on a conference line — he would have dedicated the pick to Altobelli and his family.

At home, the news that Wu-Yelland was getting picked even left Altobelli a bit speechless.

“I was thrilled,” Altobelli said. “I was kind of in shock, honestly, but I can’t be happier and it meant a lot.

“There’s no doubt it was a really special moment for me personally. Every draft pick you have I think is special to the area scout, but for me, this year and what’s gone on, Jeremy being selected, it’ll be a moment I’ll never forget. He’ll always be connected to me now for something that’s been a big positive out of this year for me.”

‘There for a reason’

Altobelli’s special moment Thursday was the culmination of more than a year of hard work on Wu-Yelland that began with a chance discovery in the fall of 2018.

Altobelli was in Hawaii scouting draft-eligible players. But Wu-Yelland, then a sophomore and not yet draft eligible, was hard to miss. Altobelli saw him throw in an intersquad action and was immediately struck by an electric fastball that was hitting 94 mph, and he left excited about continuing to scout him.

But Wu-Yelland still had a lot of work to do to prove he was worthy of a high draft pick. Though he had shown glimpses of his raw talent in his first two years at Hawaii, he was inconsistent, posting an ERA over 5.00 that was fueled by command issues. He needed some help.

To get his pitcher right, Hawaii baseball coach Mike Trapasso had just the idea after the 2019 season ended. He called up Tom Holliday, who he used to pitch for at Oklahoma State, and asked him if he’d be willing to take Wu-Yelland on the Chatham Anglers in the , arguably the best college summer league in the country.

“(Trapasso) said, ‘I got a guy, he’s got enormous potential that I’m just not reaching him, it just hasn’t happened yet and I think the Cape would be good for him and I know how much you could do for him,’” Holliday recalled.

It worked, but it wasn’t easy.

When Wu-Yelland got to the Cape, Holliday noticed the lefty was quiet, lacking in confidence and slow to trust the process that was being mapped out for him. The way Holliday coached was that he let all his players start from scratch. He observed, watched, and drew conclusions without worrying where or who they’ve been, but instead who they are and want to be.

“I explained that to him and he looked at me funny, like this guy’s coming from Mars,” Holliday said.

Slowly but surely, Wu-Yelland caught on. Chatham pitching coach Dennis Cook, who pitched for 15 years in the majors, was a big help. Wu-Yelland connected with him as a fellow lefty, and Cook kept his approach simple with the young pitcher, who warmed up to the advice he was getting.

“Cookie comes and says, ‘Hey man, you know what? He kind of changed a little bit today. He asked a couple questions. He’s starting to loosen up a little bit. He wasn’t as intimidated.’ …

“I tried to let him know he’s not inferior, you’re superior. You have a great arm, you have a chance to be a big-leaguer. I don’t think he ever believed that.”

Holliday let Wu-Yelland throw how he felt without restrictions and that helped him relax into his talent. His newfound comfort showed as he posted a 3.15 ERA in 10 appearances — which was better than the numbers show due to one bad outing — with 26 strikeouts in 25⅔ innings. Holliday used him strictly out of the bullpen in late-inning situations with the lead, and he excelled in that role.

“Every little thing about pitching that Jeremy had struggled with, we attacked it,” Holliday said. “Right down to where we were saying, ‘You’re special. I’d like to put you in games where we have a chance to win.’ And he’s like, ‘Seriously?’ He’s never had that kind of responsibility. …

“By the time we got to the last three weeks of the season in the Cape, we wanted Wu out there to win games. He accepted it really well. … I mean, he was electric. Obviously, the Red Sox paid attention.”

And clearly, Wu-Yelland had gained a level of confidence he didn’t have before.

“Jeremy was there for a reason and the personality, coming out of that shell, that happened,” Holliday said. “His mother was the first one to notice it and she was really appreciative and said nice things to my wife about how much she was enjoying it. That was important, because I knew then that he was listening to us.”

Wu-Yelland carried that momentum back to school for his junior season. He had an impressive fall season in which he made some mechanical adjustments, developed his changeup and even improved his velocity.

Though he was tempted to make him a starter, which he was as a sophomore, Trapasso put Wu-Yelland in that high-leverage reliever role, and he noticed a different pitcher, one that was pounding the zone, commanding his pitches and trusting his stuff. The results continued as he produced a 0.69 ERA in seven appearances and struck out 16 in 13 innings in a shortened season due to the pandemic. The highlight came on March 1, when he dominated against No. 2 Vanderbilt with six strikeouts in four shutout innings.

Wu-Yelland had finally arrived, and he could point to that summer on the Cape as the biggest reason why.

“You take your car to the shop to get it fixed, you hope that they fix it, and so (Trapasso) sent him to the shop and we fixed him,” Holliday said. “I still don’t think he’s finished. I thought whoever picked him was gonna get a steal. The Red Sox did it. …

“Jeremy getting drafted did not surprise me and quite frankly, if the Red Sox keep handling him right, you’re going to have a special arm there.”

* MassLive.com

Boston Red Sox amateur free agency: Wake Forest’s Chris Lanzilli of Stoneham, Bentley’s Max Troiani among top potential MLB FA targets

Christopher Smith

Major League Baseball teams can begin to sign undrafted amateur players at 9 a.m. Sunday.

The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic limited the 2020 MLB Draft to five rounds, down from the regular 40 rounds. And so plenty of talented players will be available in amateur free agency. Clubs can offer maximum bonuses of only $20,000 to these free agents.

“It’s tricky because we don’t know at this point in time exactly who’s going to opt out (and return to college) and who’s going to opt in,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Paul Toboni said during a Zoom call Thursday after the draft concluded. “A lot of that will dictate how many kids we end up signing. But the other huge piece to it is we don’t know how many kids we offer are gonna actually land (sign) with the Red Sox, right? I think we think optimistically in that regard. But at the end of the day, it’s really tough to predict. All we can do is really, really prepare for it.”

Who might the Red Sox target? listed the top 25 college seniors who are free agents. MLB.com draft expert Jonathan Mayo listed 10 undrafted players to watch.

Toboni hopes the Red Sox can use brand and history to recruit players for a $20,000 bonus, as MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo wrote last Sunday.

“I grew up in the San Francisco/Bay Area, and I grew up a Giants fan. If I was signing for $20k, they probably had a huge advantage over other clubs,” Toboni said a couple weeks ago. “I will say — even though I wasn’t necessarily a Red Sox fan at that point in my life — they probably would have been No. 2, because of that brand. Seeing the Green Monster on Sunday Night Baseball and the history and all that would have had a huge impact on me. I might be thinking a little bit too optimistically there, but I do think it plays a really big part.”

Using that philosophy, who are some local products? Who are some free agents who grew up Red Sox fans?

Wake Forest outfielder Chris Lanzilli is from Stoneham. He attended Dexter Southfield. He has bashed 31 homers and 37 doubles with a .394 on-base percentage, .594 slugging percentage and 112 RBIs in 123 games over three seasons at Wake Forest. His brother Cameron Lanzilli pitched at UMass Lowell and Eckerd.

Max Troiani, an outfielder from Pittsford, N.Y., played his baseball at in nearby Waltham.

Troiani batted .320 with a .395 on-base percentage, .492 slugging percentage, 14 homers, 24 doubles, seven triples and 64 RBIs in 116 games during his four years at Bentley. Baseball America wrote, “Troiani last summer was one of the biggest surprises in the Cape Cod League and he ranked third in the league in batting (.345). While he showed little power, his contact ability and speed make him an intriguing sign.”

Infielder Billy Cook and right-handed pitcher Will Jensen of Pepperdine University both appear on Mayo’s list as top free agent options.

Cook listed the Red Sox as his favorite team and Dustin Pedroia as his favorite pro athlete in his Pepperdine athletic profile. Will Jensen, meanwhile, listed the Red Sox as his favorite team and Pedro Martinez as his favorite pro athlete in his Pepperdine athletic profile.

The Rays — Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom’s former club — drafted Texas Tech pitcher John McMillon out of high school but he opted to attend college. He’s a potential amateur free agent target.

“They’re ranked,” Toboni said about the unprecedented free agent class. “We’ve prepared for it. We’re ranking out the board because we thought that we might be looking at some of these kids in the fifth round.”

MLB players done negotiating with owners, ask league to tell them when to report to camp for 48-54 game season: ‘It’s time to get back to work’

Chris Cotillo

The MLB Players Association is ending negotiations with the league about restarting the season and has asked the owners to inform them when the season will begin, according to a statement released Saturday. The league has the ability to unilaterally implement a schedule of its desired length and will apparently do so now that talks with the union have ended.

The players have asked MLB to inform them of the length of the schedule and the report date for players by Monday. In the statement, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said that the union’s efforts to play the longest season possible has “fallen on deaf ears” and that “further dialogue with the league would be futile.”

“It’s time to get back to work,” Clark wrote. “Tell us when and where.”

Throughout the last month, the league’s owners and its players have been embroiled in heated negotiations about how to start the regular season, which has been delayed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. As other leagues -- like the NBA and NHL -- formalized return-to-play plans in recent weeks, baseball has made little progress as the sides have continued to debate a variety of factors related to finances and health and safety measures required to resume play.

The proposals exchanged by the sides have called for seasons ranging from 72 to 114 games, each including different plans for how players would be compensated in a shortened season. The players believe they are entitled to full prorated salaries based on how many games are played but the owners believe the March agreement reached between the sides can be renegotiated if games are played without fans in the stands.

The latest league proposal, which was sent to the players Thursday, called for a 72-game season and for players to be paid 70% of their prorated salaries during the regular season and 80% if the postseason is completed. The players rejected that plan and decided Saturday that they would not issue a counterproposal.

If the league unilaterally decides on the schedule, the season will last 48-54 games, according to and Evan Drellich of The Athletic. If a plan is announced Monday, teams could begin getting together for a “second spring training” by the end of the month and potentially get the season underway in mid-July.

Last week, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy told 7News’ Chelsi McDonald that the league was prepared to impose a season lasting “at least” 50 games if an agreement was not reached with the players.

“I’m very optimistic that we will come together,” Kennedy said. “We have obviously committed to playing at least a 50-game schedule. Hopefully, we’ll make progress sooner rather than later because, boy, I think the country needs baseball, the greatest game ever invented, to get us going again.”

After the union’s announcement, Major League Baseball released a statement saying the league would “evaluate the union’s refusal to adhere” to the March agreement between the sides and “determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans.”

* WEEI.com

Was Red Sox pick best hitter in high school baseball? One prominent college coach thinks so.

Rob Bradford

One thing that we know to be absolutely true is that the decision to take high school middle infielder Nick Yorke in the first round of the MLB Draft Wednesday was the most polarizing pick of the night.

The reaction from analysts on both MLB Network and ESPN struck the tone of befuddlement that the Red Sox would use the No. 17 overall pick for a player ranked far lower by most who follow the Draft. Conversely, the Red Sox were adamant in their assessment this Yorke represented the kind of talent that should be prioritized at that spot in the process. (For more on the Red Sox' pursuit of Yorke, click here.)

One notable voice supports the Red Sox' line of thinking.

Tim Corbin, the coach for perhaps the most well-respected college program in the country, Vanderbilt, told MLB Network Yorke is a player who should be viewed among the elite.

"It wasn't a surprise to me," he said. "We really recruited that kid. I thought he was the best hitter in high school baseball."

Yorke, who appears to have agreed to terms with the Red Sox regarding a signing bonus, had been committed to play at the University of Arizona after starring at Archbishop Mitty (CA) High in San Jose.

MLBPA chief: 'Further dialogue with the league would be futile'

Rob Bradford

Rob Manfred guaranteed Wednesday night there would be a Major League Baseball season.

After the statement put out by MLB Players Association chief Tony Clark Saturday if that is the case it won't be on the players' terms.

Statement of MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark

“Players want to play. It’s who we are and what we do.

Since March, the Association has made it clear that our No. 1 focus is playing the fullest season possible, as soon as possible, as safely as possible. Players agreed to billions in monetary concessions as a means to that end, and in the face of repeated media leaks and misdirection we made additional proposals to inject new revenues into the industry – proposals that would benefit the owners, players, broadcast partners, and fans alike.

It's now become apparent that these efforts have fallen upon deaf ears. In recent days, owners have decried the supposed unprofitability of owning a baseball team and the Commissioner has repeatedly threatened to schedule a dramatically shortened season unless players agree to hundreds of millions in further concessions. Our response has been consistent that such concessions are unwarranted, would be fundamentally unfair to players, and that our sport deserves the fullest 2020 season possible. These remain our positions today, particularly in light of new reports regarding MLB’s national television rights – information we requested from the league weeks ago but were never provided.

As a result, it unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile. It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.”

The statement comes one day after the owners' latest proposal to the union which proposed a 72-game season with the players receiving 75 percent of their prorated salaries. It was an offer that included a deadline of Sunday night to accept or reject. Evidently, it's not going to take that long.

Update: Late Saturdaay night MLB responded wih a statement of its own:

“We are disappointed that the MLBPA has chosen not to negotiate in good faith over the resumption of player after MLB made three successive proposals that would provide players, Clubs and our fans with an amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The MLBPA understands that the agreement reached on March 26th was premised on the parties’ mutual understanding that the players would be paid their full salaries only if play resumed in front of fans, and that another negotiation was to take place if Clubs could not generate the billions of dollars in ticket revenue required to pay players. The MLBPA’s position that players are entitled to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 seasons played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that Clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season. We will evaluate the Union’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the March Agreement, and after consulting with ownership, determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans.”

* BostonSportsJournal.com

MLB Notebook: On what gets lost with the inevitable short schedule; plus, owners crying poor- mouth and leftover draft observations

Sean McAdam

Sadly, we could all see this coming.

On Saturday, the Major League Baseball Players Association sent Major League Baseball a letter in which it stated: “If it is your intention to unilaterally impose a season, we again request that you inform us and our members of how many games you intend to play and when and where players should report.”

This came just a day after yet another proposal form MLB was presented, with more clever accounting, but with details that don’t differ greatly from the last three. In every one of them, the players would end up being guaranteed roughly a third of their scheduled 2020 full salaries, and with MLB paying out somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.4 billion.

Eventually, the MLBPA got tired of the charade. On Saturday, they essentially said: “This is what you’ve wanted all along. Now, kindly give us the details.”

It’s been patently obvious for a while now that the owners and commissioner Rob Manfred have but one strategy: to run out the negotiating clock until such time when it becomes feasible for them to implement a shorter schedule of their own determination.

(Owners earned this right in negotiations with the Players Association in March, likely in exchange, in part, for the advance of $170 million to the PA.)

It will likely be in the neighborhood of 50-something games, for two reasons. First, as has already been demonstrated, owners prefer the shortest regular season possible because it’s their contention that they will lose money without paying customers in attendance. Secondly, the owners don’t want the season going past the original Sept. 27 end date, out of fear that a second wave of the coronavirus would imperil the postseason – the time of year most profitable for them.

I’ve written before that a 50-something game schedule would be a bastardized season. Is it better than nothing? Sure, in the sense that one black eye is better than two. But not my much.

Yes, the game will return, which beats it disappearing until next spring (at minimum) and spares the sport the embarrassment of being the lone game that couldn’t figure a way to put its differences aside during a pandemic.

But that’s establishing a very low bar, one which baseball will apparently barely clear.

So, yes, there will be baseball. Eventually. But it will come a price.

Once Manfred, with the backing of owners, unilaterally implement a shortened schedule, the nastiness will commence. The players, who will feel ordered back to work, though, to be clear, their union provided MLB with this loophole.

In effect, the players will be forced to play the season (or forfeit salary and service time) on the owners’ terms. The notion of a 48-game season (or 50- or 54-) will have the effect of the players feeling like it was forced on then. And they’ll respond predictably and accordingly:

Initially, this season would have been the perfect stage to experiment with some proposed rules changes. Some were controversial and perhaps suspect (e.g. starting each extra inning with a baserunner at second base) and others would have represented common sense (universal DH). But because players will be angry at the lack of substantive negotiations and cognizant that the abbreviated schedule was the goal all along, they almost certainly won’t sign off on any of this experimentation. And so, the perfect laboratory in which to try some worthwhile innovations for the good of the game will be squandered.

Forget, too, the notion of the expanded playoff field, which MLB had proposed for both 2020 and 2021, with an eye toward a more permanent expansion written into the new collective bargaining agreement. Owners saw this as an opportunity to auction off additional October inventory and, by extension, a way to audition a bigger playoff format for potential new TV partners. (Also on Saturday, the New York Post reported that MLB had come to agreement with TBA on a new deal worth $1 billion for the right to carry one LCS each year). Now, the additional playoff teams (MLB had proposed going to as many as 16 for this season, up from the current 10) will be put on hold, since the players won’t sign-off on this.

There had been much discussion about how to take advantage of the unique circumstances that will be part of 2020. MLB had hoped that the players would agree to wear microphones in-game to allow fans to get a better sense of their personalities. Nearly everyone agrees that the sport needs to do a far better job marketing its stars, something the NBA and NFL figured out long ago. Again, however, the Players Association won’t be in the mood to cooperate with the owners, so this innovation will likely be nixed, too.

Taken individually, perhaps none of these lost initiatives will do as much damage to the game as the endless squabbling between the two sides for the past couple of months. Many will shrug and barely notice at the missed chances. But at a time when the players and owners could have united and helped move the game toward some welcome changes, and made their business more appealing to fans, they instead drew their lines in the sand and focused solely on their own bottom line.

And that’s the issue here. Thanks to the non-stop pettiness, an opportunity to turn this nightmare into something positive for the game — now and in the future — will be forfeited.

All of which is sadly indicative of the state of the game, 2020 ______

Think of the petty infighting between owners and players as a longform horse race in which the object is to utter the most demonstrably idiotic things.

In the early going, the players galloped to a big lead in the Stupidity Stakes when a few inartfully expressed their points of view. Most famously, Blake Snell expressed how he was quantifying his various risks (hint: it had to do with how big his paycheck was), all the while expressing some surprise that his paycheck was somehow subject to — get this! — taxation.

That was bad, alright, and a reminder that at least some players exist in their own little bubble, unaware of their good fortune and how entitled they sometimes sound. Snell was roundly — and properly — ridiculed.

He was needlessly dramatic (“Bro, I’m risking my life”) and entirely too self-involved (“I’m not playing until I get mine, OK?”). Apparently, no one bothered to inform Snell beforehand that, in a time of near- record unemployment and, tens of thousands of deaths, listening to a 20-something millionaire detail his perceived injustices was considered bad form.

But given time, the owners have not only come up fast on the rail, but have more recently begun to pull away in the Stupidity Stakes. And down the stretch they come…

First came Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, who managed to say, with a straight face: “The league itself does not make a lot of cash.”

That sounds suspicious since there are many reports that Major League Baseball collected revenues somewhere between $10.5-$11 billion in 2019. Granted, that’s gross revenue and not profit. But you don’t need a degree from the Wharton School to infer that the sport’s profits are substantial.

Next came St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. with his own peculiar assessment of the game’s finances.

“The industry,” thundered DeWitt, “isn’t very profitable, to be honest.”

(Tell that to the person cutting the check at TBS this weekend).

DeWitt’s remarks would have been laughable if he had merely stopped at the word “profitable.” But when he added the ”to be honest” part, he upped the disingenuous quotient ten-fold. Because DeWitt is being far from honest here.

This is the same Bill DeWitt whose family bought his franchise for the sum of $150 million in 1995. Now, they’re valued in excess of $2 billion. which would seem to be a significant return on the original investment.

If your business grew approximately 14 times in value over a period of 25 years, that would represent a good payday, would it not?

In the meantime, the Cardinals owner tried some sleight of hand when it came to Ballpark Village — the area full of bars, shops and restaurants that surrounds Busch Stadium. That may look like a big investment of commercial real estate to you. But not to DeWitt.

“We don’t view [Ballpark Village] as a profit opportunity,” maintained DeWitt. “We think it’s great long- term for the franchise and downtown St. Louis and what’s good for St. Louis is good for the Cardinals.”

Well, isn’t that magnanimous of them?

Look, pro sports is a business and always has been. Owners, having made the initial investment of capital and assumed great risk in the process, are entitled to make their money. Nothing wrong with that.

What they’re not entitled to do is cry poor mouth and suggest their ownership of franchises is some exercise in civic philanthropy when that is plainly not the case. ______

A few leftover thoughts on the draft:

Chaim Bloom unsurprisingly proved willing to take some chances in his first Red Sox draft. Selecting Nick Yorke in the first round proved to be the shocker of the night and helped pave the way for the Sox to roll the dice again with third-round pick Blaze Jordan. Yorke will get far less than the standard first-round selection, leaving additional resources to direct toward Jordan, who was viewed as a tough sign. Maybe in a few years, we’ll look back and view this as the first time Bloom really asserted himself in the big chair. (The Mookie Betts deal doesn’t count, since, let’s face it, he was instructed to move Betts and get the most he could for him). Perhaps by then, both Yorke and Jordan will be contributing to the big league club and together anchoring the right side of the Boston infield. Or perhaps each will stall out and remind everyone why they were somewhat risky selections in the first place. But at a time when it would have been simple for Bloom to go the traditional “best player available,” he instead discarded the usual orthodoxy. That alone makes him interesting.

More than a few people have made the comparison between Yorke and Dustin Pedroia — offensive- minded with sizable chips on their shoulders. Yorke seemed to embrace his underdog status immediately, noting that he hadn’t participated in Perfect Game showcases intended to improve draft standing and more than once detailing his work ethic and willingness to put in the necessary time. In a game rooted in failure, determination can often spell the difference between a career that stalls out in the minor leagues or one that results in stardom.

The baseball draft, quite obviously, lacks the star appeal of the NBA and NFL drafts. The players are mostly unknown except to those who closely follow the college game. Meanwhile, high school players exist in anonymity — there are simply too many, most far away from any media spotlight. That said, the drafting of Jordan figures to lead to a fascinating journey up the developmental chain. I can’t remember a single Red Sox draft pick who has produced the kind of curiosity that Jordan has in just a few days. Some already know him for his multiple appearances in televised Home Run Derbies and YouTube videos of him swatting prodigious homers are already have millions of views. It’s likely that more attention will be paid to his minor league career than any Red Sox prospect ever. And the happiest people, in years to come, might well be those working in the ticket offices in affiliates in Greenville, Salem, Portland and Worcester.

* The Athletic

Negotiations appear over as players decline offer: ‘Time to get back to work’

Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich

The Players Association effectively walked away from the negotiating table Saturday night, marking a potential turning point in an ugly stalemate that has produced more rhetoric than movement.

A day after the league’s third and latest proposal for a shortened 2020 season again called for a reduction in per-game pay, the union told the commissioner’s office and the public it believes the negotiations to be over.

“It unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said in a statement. “It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.”

The league responded in a statement Saturday night: “We are disappointed that the MLBPA has chosen not to negotiate in good faith over resumption of play after MLB has made three successive proposals that would provide players, clubs and our fans with an amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The union’s message — delivered via Clark’s statement as well as in a letter from top union lawyer Bruce Meyer to deputy commissioner Dan Halem — appears to leave room for MLB to come back with a new offer that does not include a pay cut. But there is no indication MLB will make such a move, which might mean the next step will be the league’s implementation of a schedule for the 2020 season.

The March agreement between the parties empowers commissioner Rob Manfred to set the number of games as long as the league awards the players their full prorated salaries, with the caveat that the league make its best effort to make the schedule as long as possible.

“Players remain united in their stance that a day’s work is worth a day’s pay, particularly in a situation where players and their families are being asked to take on additional burdens and risks,” Meyer wrote Halem on Saturday, following a scathing letter sent in the reverse direction a day earlier. “Given your continued insistence on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional pay reductions, we assume these negotiations are at an end.

“If it is your intention to unilaterally impose a season, we again request that you inform us and our members of how many games you intend to play and when and where players should report. It is unfair to leave players and the fans hanging at this point, and further delay risks compromising health and safety. We demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday, June 15.”

The message served as a rejection of the league’s offer for a 72-game season. That proposal, delivered on Friday, would have paid players 70 percent of their prorated pay, or 80 percent if the postseason were played in full.

“It’s unfortunate that it has unfolded this way,” said , a member of the union’s eight-man executive subcommittee. “Players have always desired the most games possible. We have tried to work with them in every reasonable way. I sincerely believe that.”

The league is concerned a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall could limit or force the cancellation of the postseason, the time of year when MLB’s national media deals generate the most revenue. Meyer on Saturday accused the league of using that fear to further its own goals, pointing to the league’s insistence that the regular season conclude at its normal time.

“Your refusal to play (regular season) games in October is purportedly based primarily on concern for player health. We believe this is a pretext,” Meyer wrote. “We note that we requested information at our May 31 meeting on any basis for not playing games in October. You agreed to provide such information but we have yet to receive it. Other leagues are planning on playing in October and November, and we have proposed having the flexibility to play games at neutral sites if necessary to address any safety concerns.

“We believe your position is part and parcel of your general bad faith determination to play as few games as possible to punish players for refusing to capitulate to MLB’s demands for massive pay cuts.”

If MLB moves forward with plans to implement its own schedule, the slate is expected to be no fewer than 48 games and no longer than 54. Both sides will face consequences if they proceed without a new agreement, including the likely loss of a potential expanded playoff format for 2020 that could produce increased revenues. MLB also sought a release from liability of some player-health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, which it now might not have a chance to secure.

In a critical letter similar in tone to his other recent correspondence with Halem, Meyer made reference to the league’s “underhanded tactics to circumvent the union.” In seven paragraphs of bullet points, he accused the league of delays, leaks to the news media, a lack of transparency on finances, threats to play as few games as possible and requests for “massive” salary concessions.

A number of players chimed in on Twitter after the union’s public statement, echoing the message that they are ready to play.

“The players are aligned in the belief that this is not a negotiation anymore, and at this point, the back and forth is clearly just a waste of time,” Joel Wolfe, a top agent for the Wasserman agency (which represents Nolan Arenado, Javier Báez and Giancarlo Stanton) told The Athletic. “The players are extremely frustrated. They’ve spent their entire lives working and grinding to make it to the major leagues, and have to work even harder to stick in the big leagues. They are a proud and principled group and have no desire to capitulate given what they see before them.

“This is their job. They want to get to work and be treated fairly for it.”

Both sides could file a grievance in the event no agreement is reached. Doing so would not impede play.

The union’s likely grievance would suggest the league did not make the best effort required to play as many games as possible, while the league’s would suggest the union did not engage in a good-faith negotiation over the economics of the sport if games were played without fans.

The latter point has been a source of animosity virtually since the day an arrangement between the league and union was reached in March. Meyer addressed the point again in his letter Saturday, noting disbelief at the league’s interpretation that the players would take a subsequent pay cut.

“More importantly, as sophisticated and experienced attorneys yourselves, with sophisticated outside counsel, you cannot seriously contend that an agreement to ‘discuss’ (not even ‘negotiate’) the ‘economic feasibility’ of games without fans is in any way an ‘agreement to agree’ to further pay cuts,” Meyer wrote.

MLB returned to the discrepancy in its statement Saturday as well.

“The MLBPA understands that the agreement reached on March 26 was premised on the parties’ mutual understanding that the players would be paid their full salaries only if play resumed in front of fans, and that another negotiation was to take place if clubs could not generate the billions of dollars of ticket revenue required to pay players,” the league said. “The MLBPA’s position that players are entitled to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 season played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season. We will evaluate the Union’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the March agreement, and after consulting with ownership, determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans.”

The union is adamant that it did, in fact, adhere to the agreement, and points to correspondence with MLB lawyers that acknowledged the players did not have to accept a new pay cut as proof, including a May 22 letter from the league that reads, “We agree with the Association that, under the agreement, players are not required to accept less than their full prorated salary.”

The union also maintained it is not convinced the league’s financial state is as dire as the league says it is.

“Your own self-serving slide presentation showed that the league as a whole will lose significantly less money playing a season than not playing a season, and Rob admitted this in response to a direct question,” Meyer wrote. “With respect to other assertions in the presentation, we found it incomplete, unclear and unpersuasive and requested information that would allow us to verify it. Your eventual response was completely inadequate.”

The New York Post reported earlier on Saturday that MLB had reached a new billion-dollar deal with Turner Sports, one of its broadcast partners. The deal begins after the current one’s expiration, following the 2021 season, and per Sports Business Daily, is worth an average of roughly $470 million per year from 2022 through 2028, and $3.29 billion in total.

In his statement, Clark noted the Turner arrangement was “information we requested from the league weeks ago but were never provided.”

Health protocols are expected to be resolved regardless of a new deal governing economics. In response to speculation that high-priced players with long-term contracts might choose not to play, two ranking members of the union said they expect only players who are high-risk medically to opt out.

Meyer ended his letter by noting a number of issues that must be resolved, including on-field rules, player transactions and rosters, before any season can begin.

“We will be available at your convenience to continue discussions on the Manual,” Meyer noted in a rare moment of cordiality. “Please advise with regard to your availability for those discussions.”

* The USA Today

Players' union done negotiating, tells MLB to simply tell the players when to show up for work

Bob Nightengale

The Major League Baseball Players Association informed MLB on Saturday night that they are done negotiating and want an answer by Monday on how many games they’ll play and when to show up for work.

“It’s now become apparent that these efforts have fallen upon dead ears,’’ Tony Clark, executive director of the MLBPA, said in a statement. “In recent days, owners have decried the supposed unprofitability of owning a baseball team and the Commissioner has repeatedly threatened to schedule a dramatically shortened season unless players agree to hundreds of millions in further concessions. Our response has been consistently that such concessions are unwarranted, would be fundamentally unfair to players, and our sport deserves the fullest 2020 season possible. These remain our positions today, particularly in light of new reports regarding MLB’s national television rights — information that we requested from the league weeks ago but were never provided.

“As a result, it unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile. It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.’’

Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Players Association, issued a statement Saturday rejecting the league's latest proposal. In other words, the union now is simply waiting for Commissioner Rob Manfred to unilaterally impose a short season, perhaps as few as 50 games, which would require the players to be paid at a prorated basis.

"We have been consistent and upfront about everything from the beginning,’’ said Andrew Miller, a member of the union’s executive committee. "We want to play and have made that abundantly clear. It’s clear the negotiations were not being productive and it was time to put the ball into the hands of MLB to let us know when we should come to work."

Just like that, unless MLB comes back with a proposal that would pay the players full-prorated salaries without fans in the stands, 10 weeks of negotiations are over.

No expanded postseason.

No broadcast enhancements.

No cooperation.

And perhaps plenty of players who may simply decide to sit out the season and rejoin their teams for spring training next season.

“Ugly,’’ one MLB owner said. “And it’s going to get worse.’’

In the letter lead attorney Bruce Meyer sent to deputy commissioner Dan Halem, he reiterated that the players will not take any pay cut from their prorated salaries, particularly in light of a news report that MLB has agreed to a lucrative contract extension with Turner Sports. The deal has yet to be finalized and will not be in effect until 2022, two high-ranking officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations said, and will have no impact on this year’s economic losses.

“We have made clear numerous times that players are not willing to accept less than their full prorated salaries for playing games,’’ Meyer said in a letter obtained by USA TODAY Sports. “Your recitation of the March Agreement and negotiations leading up to it is both inaccurate and largely irrelevant. …

“Your failure to produce numerous categories of documents that would allow us to validate your claims provided further confirmation of our position. For example, we still have never received unredacted RSN and national TV contracts or sponsorship agreements, the details of ongoing discussions with TV networks and sponsors, or projections of the value of any expanded playoffs. …

“As far as how you have conducted negotiations and without getting into all of your underhanded tactics to circumvent the union, your approach has been one delay tactic after another: You wasted most of April and May on lobbying politicians regarding player concessions and leaking a so-called revenue sharing proposal to the media. …Your response has been wholly inadequate, and the league has continued to obstruct the Association’s efforts to obtain even a modicum of financial transparency from the league and its clubs.’’

The union also believes that baseball should be played into November, despite MLB’s insistence that doctors and medical experts have warned them of a second wave of the virus, which potentially would cancel the postseason, and a loss of about $900 million.

“Your refusal to play games in October is purportedly based primarily on concern for player health,’’ the letter continues. “We believe this is a pretext. We note that we requested information at our May 31 meeting on any basis for not playing games in October. You agreed to provide such information but we have yet to receive it. Other leagues are planning on playing in October and November, and we have proposed having the flexibility to play games at neutral sites if necessary to address any safety concerns. We believe your position is part and parcel of your general bad faith determination to play as few games as possible to punish players for refusing to capitulate to MLB’s demands for massive pay cuts.

“Players remain united in their stance that a day’s work is worth a day’s pay, particularly in a situation where players and their families are being asked to take on additional burdens and risks. Given your continued insistence on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional pay reductions, we assume these negotiations are at an end. If it is your intention to unilaterally impose a season, we again request that you inform us and our members of how many games you intend to play and when and where players should report. It is unfair to leave players and the fans hanging at this point, and further delay risks compromising health and safety.

“We demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday, June 15.’’

Major League Baseball responded Saturday night with a statement that read in part, "We are disappointed that the MLBPA has chosen not to negotiate in good faith over resumption of play after MLB has made three successive proposals that would provide players, Clubs and our fans with an amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...

"‘We will evaluate the Union’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the March Agreement, and after consulting with ownership, determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans.” It’s possible that MLB could submit a counter-proposal, after their last proposal guaranteeing 70% pay during a 76-game regular season and 80% if there’s a postseason, but why bother?

MLB could turn around and propose a shortened season between 60 and 70 games with full pro-rated pay, guaranteeing a 16-team postseason, but it’s unlikely.

Simply, it’s clear these two sides have reached an impasse.

It’s now in Manfred’s hands.

There will be a season, perhaps starting as early as July 14, but the joy of a 2020 season has vanished in a sea of emails and zoom calls during these tumultuous negotiations.

Play ball, like it or not.