Owners set to meet; MLBPA awaiting counteroffer to last week's proposal

As the ongoing MLB lockout continues at a snail’s pace, the sport’s owners are convening at their quarterly meetings from Tuesday to Thursday. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets the expectation among players is that a counterproposal will be among the topics discussed, and that a new offer from the league should be forthcoming in the days ahead (perhaps not until the owners’ meetings conclude, however).

It’s been nearly a week since the MLBPA made its latest proposal to the league — an offer that was met with the promise of a counter but instead resulted in MLB’s request for a federal mediator to intervene. The union outright rejected the notion of mediation, instead repeating a desire to head back to the negotiating table with MLB.

That was the widely expected route, as the mediation request always smacked as more of a public relations move than an earnest request. To that end, veteran left-hander Andrew Miller, one of the eight players on the MLBPA executive subcommittee, spoke with ESPN’s Jesse Rogers about the decision to reject mediation.

“…[W]e don’t think it speeds up the process at all,” Miller told Rogers when asked about the union’s rationale. “History tells us in our sport it hasn’t been favorable to reaching a deal and our staff and outside council guide us on things like this. That is what they are for. Our position is that it is quite the opposite from negotiating and being ready to negotiate. We are there and our proposals and desire to meet at the table show that. The league is refusing to counter, the league is the side that has stalled and not been willing or ready to meet.”

Miller’s point about history is likely a nod to federal mediator Bill Usery, who was brought in for just such a purpose in the 1994 labor stoppage. Usery provided very little utility in negotiations as he was not sufficiently up to speed on the intricacies and complexities of the issues at hand, and his presence ultimately did not result in an agreement being reached.

Further, as Giants lefty Alex Wood points out (Twitter link), it would likely take weeks to bring a federal mediator into the fold, and the basis for a new deal would be largely rooted in the existing CBA, from which the players are trying to create some distance. Wood’s usage of quotation marks when describing an “’impartial’ mediator” and his characterization of the current CBA as an “already broken system” underscore both the MLBPA’s distrust of any measures put forth by the league and of the union’s current dissatisfaction with the status quo.

That said, it’s still worth noting that United States labor secretary Marty Walsh has expressed a willingness to get involved in the lockout, as first reported by Politico’s Jonathan Lemire (Twitter link). Walsh later removed any doubt on the matter, issuing the following statement to Lemire:

“I have spoken to both the MLBPA and MLB about the ongoing contract negotiations and encourage both sides to continue engagement. Like any contract negotiation in any industry, I stand ready to help facilitate productive conversations that result in the best outcome for workers and employers.”

While the league may continue to hold out hope for outside mediation, it’s clear the players have no desire to traverse that path. A large number of Major Leaguers have taken to social media in recent days to express their frustration and their desire to negotiate a new deal. Twins catcher Mitch Garver, for instance, tweeted that key members of the union “want to meet every day until a deal is done,” contesting that “the other side does not.”

Former Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd, a union representative who’s currently a free agent, struck a similar chord to Miller in telling Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that the union feels resorting to mediation would only further prolong matters. The clearest path to resolving matters, Boyd added, is to continue meaningful negotiations with the league.

Banding together to voice a unified set of goals has been a clear tactic for the MLBPA over the past week. Miller and fellow executive subcommittee member Max Scherzer have been vocal, as have the likes of Wood, Garver, Whit Merrifield, Jameson Taillon and many others. The talking points remain largely the same, as hammered home by Miller and Scherzer. Various players have reiterated that the MLBPA wants to eliminate the incentives for teams to tank (i.e. access to better draft picks, larger draft and international bonus pools), bring about better compensation for young/inexperienced players, put an end to service-time manipulation and, to use Scherzer’s exact terminology, create “a system where threshold and penalties don’t function as caps” (in reference to the current luxury/competitive balance tax).

It should be noted that not every player has spoken so strongly. Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright clearly shares the frustration of his union-mates, but he also at least rhetorically suggested that if the league were to propose “the exact same deal that we have right now, we would probably go play baseball” (link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Those comments were made off the cuff at a charity fundraiser, but they’re still a notable departure from other recent, public statements from the union.

That said, Wainwright agreed with his peers that a “good and fair deal” doesn’t appear likely as things presently stand. “That’s not even close to happening, honestly,” he added. “It’s pretty one-sided. And [MLB] are not really willing to talk right now. That makes it tough.” Wainwright further told Jones that MLB’s most recent offer “is far from a place we could even start negotiations.”

Whether a third party is ultimately brought on board or not, the ball is in MLB’s court as the union continues to wait for a counter to last Tuesday’s latest offer. It remains to be seen exactly when the league will make its next move.