Story by
MLBPA's Tony Clark on waiver wire, free agency deadline, offseason dead period, uniforms
- Story by
- MLBPA's Tony Clark on waiver wire, free agency deadline, offseason dead period, uniforms
LAKELAND, Fla. — Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield sat in a chair in the clubhouse, holding court for outfielder Akil Baddoo , outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy and catcher Donny Sands .
The three Detroit Tigers were hanging on every last word from the Baseball Hall of Famer. Winfield, who played 22 MLB seasons, is a 1992 World Series champion, 12-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove winner and six-time Silver Slugger winner.
Advertisement
Winfield, now 72, is the special advisor to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. The MLBPA, led by executive director Tony Clark , visited the Tigers for a players-only meeting before Saturday's spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Lakeland, Florida.
The meeting lasted about an hour.
"These meetings in spring training give the broadest group possible a snapshot of what's going on, what we're seeing, things they need to be aware of and thinking about, whether it's on-field or off-field," Clark said. "We haven't had a face-to-face in the locker rooms with guys since 2019. It's been a long time."
FROM MARCH 2022: Tigers union rep Tucker Barnhart: Not trying to 'make everybody pay every dollar'
Advertisement
There were 13 members of the MLBPA in Lakeland to meet with the Tigers before Saturday's game: Clark, Winfield, Bruce Meyer (deputy executive director), Kevin Slowey (managing director of player services), Bobby Bonilla (special assistant of player operations), Rick Helling (special assistant), Steve Rogers (special assistant of player benefits and career development program), Mike Myers (special assistant), Chris Singleton (special assistant of player resource programs), Allyne Price (senior manager of events and player services), Virginia Carballo (senior manager of player operations), Carlos Barron (deputy of security) and Silvia Alvarez (acting communications director).
Of the 13, eight of them are former MLB players: Clark, Winfield, Slowey, Bonilla, Helling, Rogers, Myers and Singleton. Clark, 51, played for the Tigers from 1995-2001 during his 15-year career. The Tigers selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1990 draft.
Right-hander Casey Mize , a leader in the clubhouse who learned more about the MLBPA from pitcher Matthew Boyd in 2021 and catcher Tucker Barnhart during the 2022 lockout , is entering his third season as the Tigers' MLBPA player representative.
Right-hander Jack Flaherty , who signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Tigers in the offseason, was one of six new players elected to the MLBPA's eight-member executive subcommittee in November 2022. It's his second season as part of a two-year term .
Advertisement
Flaherty is concerned about reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell , among other top players such as Jordan Montgomery and J.D. Martinez , still being available on the free-agent market, even though Opening Day is 26 days away.
"There were a lot of things to go over," Flaherty said. "You got guys who are free agents right now that have no business being free agents. ... There are certain things that we got to clean up and fix. It doesn't make sense for the names I just listed, and a boatload of other guys, to still be free agents."
The collective bargaining agreement — agreed upon March 10, 2022, to end the lockout — between MLB and the MLBPA expires Dec. 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
REMEMBER WHEN? Why Tigers' Casey Mize is 'definitely interested' in becoming MLBPA player rep
Advertisement
"The conversations that are being had in any one particular clubhouse tend to be unique," Clark said. "It's unfortunate that in a lot of clubhouses there are less veteran players than perhaps there should be. That's a conversation for another day. ... We have young guys asking questions and offering commentary. We've got veteran guys oftentimes answering those questions in those rooms, which is truly beneficial."
Bruce Meyer, chief union negotiator, left, and Tony Clark, executive director of the players association, right, arrive at Roger Dean Stadium as negotiations continue toward a labor deal between Major League Baseball and the players' association, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Jupiter, Fla.
After meeting with the Tigers, Clark met with three reporters and discussed a variety of topics, headlined by the waiver wire, free agency, the uniforms and the 2028 Olympics. (Questions have been edited for clarity.)
A player can be claimed off waivers, thus being added to the 40-man roster, only to be designated for assignment and placed back on waivers the following day. There isn't a set period of time for a newly claimed player to stay on the 40-man roster. Does the MLBPA want that to change to keep teams from churning the roster?
Advertisement
"There are offseason waiver claims and transactions that happen, and then there are in-season ones that happen. As it relates to the in-season ones, you may recall that there were things that we negotiated into the CBA to try to lessen a lot of that churn, such that players had some additional rights. Seeing guys go up and down 10, 12 times, those types of things, minimizing that when the lights come on during the season was important. During the offseason, we've seen more of the churn that you referenced. We'll have to appreciate whether it was one particular offseason or multiple offseasons and whether or not it's a trend rather than a blip. In doing so, and in talking with our individual representatives and the players themselves, we will try to determine whether there's an adjustment that may need to be made."
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts ( Apple , Spotify ) ]
There are still a lot of free agents on the market right now. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed interest in a signing deadline for free agency. What do you think about the concept of a deadline in free agency and a dead period for transactions in the offseason?
"Deadline and dead period are two different things. Deadline has been presented. We have said no. We don't believe a deadline would be beneficial for players. Those conversations separate from a deadline will continue to be ongoing about what may make sense moving forward, and whether to what extent we need to propose something, but rest assured, in a market-based system, and in a scenario where teams have the ability to engage players in November, players can sign earlier if teams are interested in improving their clubs, and we've seen some of that. While we can appreciate that MLB would like a deadline, there's a reason they want it, and there's a reason we don't. There are a lot of guys out there (in free agency). We are obviously tracking and watching all of that. We will continue to and remain hopeful that the teams that are indeed looking to be the last team standing will engage guys that can undoubtedly help them win ballgames."
Advertisement
MLB's new uniforms — designed by Nike and produced by Fanatics — are the most controversial topic in spring training, with players unhappy about the quality of the jerseys and pants. What are you hearing from players about the uniforms?
"I've spoken a lot about uniforms as we've connected with guys over the course of the last few weeks. You've likely seen a lot of that commentary. My hope, as a result of players offering their views and concerns, is that Nike and the league themselves have an opportunity to get on the ground and address what can be addressed. We're hopeful that when the lights come on it's not a topic of conversation. It's disheartening that we're having as much discussion about it at this point. There are a lot of other things going on, free agency being one of them. But it's unfortunate that it's manifested itself the way it has with all of the videos and pictures that we've seen. I'm hopeful that when the season starts, we're not talking about it."
Baseball has been added to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , from July 14-30. The baseball portion is expected to be scheduled in mid-July, which happens to coincide with MLB's All-Star break. How much of that is a topic at this point?
"We haven't had any formal conversations with anyone. There's a lot out there in regard to the Olympics and participation in it. The WBC (World Baseball Classic) and the guys playing in the WBC have been tremendous, for guys to be able to wear their country across their chest at the timing that they do. I don't know that you'll ever come across a player who doesn't have an interest in wearing his country's uniform. The question becomes what those details look like. We expect to have that conversation at some point. We expect that there will be a formal presentation at some point. We haven't had it yet, but the guys are paying attention."
Advertisement
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MLBPA's Tony Clark visits Detroit Tigers, talks waiver wire, more
