NEW YORK — Jeremy Jeffress, Jordan Montgomery, Kevin Plawecki could be playing for free this season, earning salaries lower than what they already received as advances.
Mookie Betts, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto, James Paxton and Marcus Stroman are likely to find fewer bidders, dollars and contract years as the free-agent market lurches into a free fall next off-season.
And all of baseball could be bracing for a spring training lockout and shortened 2022 season after the coronavirus pandemic heightened the likelihood of the sport’s first work stoppage since 1994-95.
“Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Christian Yelich, all these guys are lucky that they signed,” former Miami Marlins president David Samson said Sunday. “The biggest people you should watch this off-season are Mookie Betts and J.T. Realmuto because J.T. thought that he would surpass Joe Mauer and Buster Posey, and there is likely no chance. And Mookie Betts thought that he would be above Bryce Harper and I would view that as much less likely now.”
The pathogen highlighted each side’s economic interest: players care most about the regular season, when they accrue the entirety of their salaries; owners worry about the post-season, when $787 million in broadcast revenue is due.
Major League Baseball owners are left with the decision of how long a regular season to schedule after players’ union head Tony Clark said Saturday night that “unfortunately it appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile.”
Bruce Meyer, the union’s chief negotiator, sent Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem a letter that “we demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday.”
A March 26 agreement called for players to receive prorated salaries and bound the sides to “complete the fullest 2020 championship season and post-season that is economically feasible,” consistent with a series of provisions: no government restrictions on mass gatherings, no travel restrictions and no health or safety risk “to stage games in front of fans in each of the 30 clubs’ home ballparks.”
It also called for MLB and the union to “discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators or at appropriate substitute neutral sites.”
Commissioner Rob Manfred has threatened a regular-season of about 50 games, which would lead to players receiving about 31% of their salaries, about $1.23 billion. That is less than the $1.27 billion they were guaranteed in the offer they turned down, a deal worth $1.45 billion if the post-season is completed.
MLB appears likely to announce a decision after Manfred confers with the 30 controlling owners.
Barring a move toward a deal, both sides probably will file grievances. The union would claim MLB failed to schedule the longest season possible and ask for money damages.
The union would say to make an evaluation it needs documents detailing the equity relationships between baseball owners and regional sports networks, and between owners and real estate ventures adjacent to ballparks. MLB would claim the union did not bargain in good faith.
Players say they have no obligation to help clubs reduce expenses caused by playing in empty ballparks. Agent Scott Boras says the MLB stance is akin to saying: “When lighting strikes you, you tell the runners no race until you fix my track.”
Arbitrator Mark Irvings, who ruled against Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant in the service time manipulation grievance filed by the union, would likely spent months ruling on document demands before the sides even start to present the merits of the case.
Players have received $170 million in salary advances, up to $286,500 each. That means a player with a salary of about $925,000 or less whose contract did not include a lower rate of pay while in the major leagues — Jeffress, Montgomery and Plawecki, among them — already has received more money that he would be owed under the proration formula.
Those players wouldn’t have to return any money; instead, the money would be paid back to MLB by the union from taxes collected from teams for exceeding international signing bonus pool thresholds.
All players will lose chances to accumulate statistics for games lost that are never made up.
While they argue and file briefs, Betts, Realmuto and the rest are unlikely to reach the $300 million-and-more deals given to Mike Trout, Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole and Machado. The average salary, stagnated around $4.4 million since 2016, is likely to fall sharply this winter.
And if the coronavirus lingers into 2021, another season could be impacted. Unless the sides reach an agreement, the sides would argue whether MLB has the right to suspend the Uniform Player Contract during a national emergency, as Manfred threatened before the March agreement. Teams also will probably push for a pandemic provision in the guarantee language of new guaranteed contracts.
Bargaining during a major grievance will be even more difficult than usual heading into the labour contract’s expiration on Dec. 1, 2021. Given the experience of 1994 and the union’s threat to strike in 2002, teams would rather have a confrontation during spring training than in summer.
And if Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump in the presidential election and Democrats win control of both houses of Congress, player take-home could go down no matter what.
“If the Democrats win, I think they recognize that tax rates are going to go through the roof,” former Commissioner Fay Vincent said. ”$40 million is an awful lot of money, but the tax on that is going to be extraordinary.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
