The numbers they're talking about for controlled player bonuses is nothing. $5M to $100M breaks down to like $200k to $3M per team. It will have no effect on anyone's bottom line.
MLBPA's proposal would add about $200M to club controlled players through raising minimum and adding a bonus pool for top pre-arb players or about 5% more salary to players. That's a $6M per team average, but likely more for small market teams who have a larger portion of their rosters composed of club controlled players. MLB's proposal is much much smaller (eyeballing it looks like about $1-2M average per team). MLB has proposed small increases to luxury tax (versus at the rate of revenue increases) which would counter additional money going to club controlled players. Players consider this unfair as it would essentially be paying club controlled players with veteran players money.
But still not much at all. The players won't get the full amount they're asking for. A 3% to 5% increase is essentially a cost of living increase.
$200M (what players are asking for minimum and pre-arb players) more for pre-arb and minimum players is about a 200% raise for the total cost of the players affected and roughly a 5% increase in total payroll. Provided no other player groups besides pre-arb players got raises, sure that would be cost of living increase in total payroll that is felt more by the small markets than the big markets and only by pre-arb players. The players are also proposing a 20% increase in the luxury tax threshold. While I don't think this would be a 1 for 1 increase for veteran salaries, it would be a lot more than a cost of living increase. The players are asking for a bigger pie of the pie (baseball revenues). Granted, the owners try to hide some of the pie, but the players also want pieces of other pies the owners have as well.
Players gave up a big issue for them (years to arbitration) hoping the owners would reciprocate. The owners did not. I blame both sides for this, but the owners are the ones who truly don’t care if regular season games are missed.
Agreed. The players would like to hold out as long as they can, but a lot of these guys don't have a rainy day fund. Take, for example, Framber and Urquidy. Both of those guys are slated to make around $600k this year. I doubt they have much, if any, saved up yet. Guys like Altuve and others that have signed their first free agent contract would presumably have enough saved up to last for the whole season. But that's probably less than half of the players in MLB.
I fully understand there is a huge difference between the more veteran players and the young guys, and the leadership of the mlbpa is made up of guys who have been paid already BUT Framber has made just over 1.1 million already Urquidy just under a million, over 600K of which came just last year If they don't have enough saved up to get by for a couple/few months, that's on them It's not like we/they haven't known the strong possibility of a work stoppage this offseason was on the way. So no, players like those two don't have anywhere near the amount of money in savings that a guy like Altuve (or hundreds of others) have. But if you can't save enough out of your 600K last year to help cover what the mlbpa war chest isn't, you need serious help managing your money
Also, I don't think they "want to hold out as long as they can" so much as they want serious negotiations. They give in on a huge portion of this and MLB does nothing to reciprocate, nothing. The owners have always broken the players down until they just accepted whatever they put out there for them, and it certainly looks like that is their plan again
The majority of Americans have serious issues managing their money and not a lot of people have rainy day funds, I bet the majority of guys who have not gotten the 1st big contract will have issues. 600K is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, it is more than I make by a lot, but not in that ecosystem.
I'd have loved for the players demands to have been met, but they've already conceded much of what I'd like to see changed. Team control is a major problem in comparison to NBA & NFL. Player development obviously lends to that, but teams should not be capable of holding onto a player for a decade before they can be eligible for FA. Teams have 4-5 years of minor league control + 3 option years + 6 years of major league control. Every MLB player deserves the shot at a payday. Teams shouldn't have the incentive to hold back players. I would love to see a salary floor and a chance at FA for every player by the age of 30. I don't feel bad for the billionaire owners or the multi-million dollar players. I feel for the guys that busted their asses for years on small minor league salaries that struggle to get the right opportunity.
The system is absurd. Max Stassi was drafted in 2009, I repeat 2009. He made is his MLB debut in 2013, and has appeared in the majors every season since and he still won't reach free agency until next season, which will be 2023. He played well in most of his call ups, but because the Astros never felt like he was a good option, he was basically stuck in career limbo at their mercy for 6 seasons before he was given a real shot. I get why the owners hold onto it, but there really needs to be a timer from the second a player is drafted. It's just wrong that franchises can hold guys hostage until they feel like giving them a chance.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but there are like 60% of MLB players that are pre-arb. You're saying that 60% of MLB players currently only make $100M (2.5% of all MLB salary)? Please cite some sources because this sounds wildly inaccurate. But the point still stands. $200M (or more likely $100M compromise) is essentially nothing. This is not going to be the sticking point in negotiations. Min salary will get raised, and a prearb bonus pool will happen. Owners are simply posturing here for a perceived bargaining chip.
600K might not be much to a lot of mlb players, but it is a LOT of money I don't disagree a majority of them likely don't manage it well, but still, if they made 600K last year and have trouble getting through this season, at their age, that's on them
Yes it's on them but you act like this is an athlete problem, it's an American problem how many people are saving up in case of a strike or job loss. People spend the money they have its the American way.
Yes I do, because this is a discussion about MLB And actually many athletes do a great job of putting money away for the future, you just don’t hear about that on the news and social media
