Players Are Threatening A Strike....but Is It Real?

I don’t know what to think. On Sunday social media was blowing up with a ton of conflicting reports. Some sources say yes and others say no and tries to refute the other statements. It’s just nuts. Whether reports of a strike are true or not something is going on.

We’ve all heard the frustration on the lack of the free-agent movement. Fans are frustrated and now it sounds like the players are finally speaking out also. According to an initial report by MLB Trade Rumors and also Newsday there’s a cold war going on between players, owners and agents.

After two decades of peace could we really be talking about another strike? This offseason has been incredibly slow but are tensions really so high that words like “collusion” and “strike” be a reality?

The combination of more than 100 free agents still available as well as the top contract given so far to Lorenzo Cain at five years and $8 million dollars certainly doesn’t paint a nice picture. So maybe that is why agents are hinting at collusion without actually using the word.

But how can players think that MLB teams are colluding against them? The game is in an unusual state with at least half of all teams not chasing free agents like they usually do. A lot of teams are rebuilding. Some are in the beginning stages like Derek Jeter‘s Marlins who have obliterated the team and others like the Braves are looking to be competitive again.

Then there are other teams like the Giants who made big additions to their team after finishing dead last in their division but made their upgrades by trading for Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria.

Then there are teams who are more interested in ever than managing their money like the Yankees who are determined to get under the luxury tax this season and there are other teams who just don’t have the money to spend, so they are waiting for the price tag for these players to fall. There are contracts out there to sign, just not the ones these free agents want to sign. The market just isn’t what they like, but it’s not collusion.

So now players supposedly want to strike? Jeff Passan had an interesting article yesterday too.  There are guys out there who HAVE contracts right now making noise about this. He sited Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who calls for a “radical change” and “a fight is brewing” but yet we have yet to hear statements like this from guys like Jake Arrieta, who are still unsigned.

And then we have the no-name complainers, “The owners have to realize they’re about to jeopardize an unbelievably good thing,” said a source on the players’ side. “If they don’t recognize it, they don’t see where this is going. Everybody’s going to be in unison. And we’re all going to walk right off the cliff together.” Is a fight really brewing though? According to a update late Sunday afternoon now some beat writers are saying NO.

So which is it? Are these guys really making legitimate calls for a strike…..or are they making idle threats? I don’t see how this could possibly be advantageous for the players. The MLBPA has already warned players that an unorganized strike would violate the current CBA and lead to the league filing an injunction against them and then players would then have to return to work, and it’s also possible they’d have to pay damages. Union lawyers have warned them of those consequences also, so it sounds like if the players are looking for a war….it’s an uphill battle with a bleak outcome.

Does the market suck? Yes, but teams aren’t spending money like they were before. Next year, this will all be a thing of the past as teams try to outbid everyone else for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

It’s two weeks until pitchers and catchers report…..lets put an end to the cold war and the madness and get back to business, shall we?

–Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj