While MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Players Association can’t be terminated until 2021, it appears both sides will be at odds in the coming years.
After one of the worst offseason in years for MLB free agents that saw them have to wait nearly until Spring Training to find deals, it left many players feelings upset over the system in place.
Increased frustrations from players over teams pinching their wallets in favor of spending on impact free agents led to increased tension between owners and players.
It certainly showed on Tuesday when MLBPA Chief Tony Clark spoke to reporters about what happened last offseason and what it signified to players and the MLBPA.
“What players saw last offseason is that their free agency rights are under direct attack,” Clark said, via MLB.com.
Clark’s comments likely speak for many players who felt they lost out on the opportunity they earned to cash in via free agency after being under contract control for years under team-friendly conditions.
If issues like this persist over the coming months and years with tensions rising between owners and players, things will get ugly when the CBA ends in 2021.
While it’s a few years away, MLB could very well be looking at a future strike on its hands based off where the MLBPA feels its players are positioned today.