Normandin: The MLBPA might be selling its future short
From Marc Normandin at Baseball Prospectus on April 22, 2020:
You’ve seen the discussions on why the deal between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association is problematic. You can argue that, for the current players, it was the best of a bad situation, the most they could do in a scenario where, because of the power to suspend player contracts—granted to the commissioner during a national emergency—they lacked any comparable leverage. Even with that in mind, though, as Craig Goldstein pointed out on this very site, there are some long-term concerns with service time in the deal that could blow up in the players’ faces.
Part of Goldstein’s issue with the agreement is that it breaks up the players into different tiers. Players whose careers as full-time major leaguers are just getting going—or were about to—suffer, since, if there is no 2020 season, their service time from the previous year doesn’t count for all that much, as there isn’t very much to replicate. Yes, Mookie Betts gets to hit free agency this winter whether a game is played or not, but it’s not as if every player gets to just keep moving along like that should baseball be canceled for the entire year.
Read the full article here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/58428/the-mlbpa-might-be-selling-its-future-short/
Originally published: April 23, 2020. Last Updated: April 23, 2020.