All 30 teams have begun their exhibition season, yet several top players remain unsigned in MLB free agency. Yet, one player who recently agreed to a new contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, strongly suggested that the league’s 30 owners have been practicing collusion all offseason long.
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Kike Hernandez says all MLB owners are guilty of collusion, including Los Angeles Dodgers
Enrique ‘Kike’ Hernandez recently signed a one-year, $4 million contract to remain with the Los Angeles Dodgers, ending a long, drawn-out free agency process that began back in November. Yet, Hernandez is far from the only player who had to wait several months to see where he’d be playing in 2024.
Now, Hernandez is speaking up about his recent experience, and he’s clearly not happy with the state of MLB free agency, even strongly hinting at collusion among team owners.
“I’m not going to say the C-word, but I think the C-word needs a capital C.”
“The timing of the calls (with teams) were very similar. The numbers were pretty much the same throughout.”
“I think the teams that are using these computer systems to project numbers, project salaries, they’re all using the same one and I think they all have the same password. So that’s how free agency is going, and it’s not just me.”
Enrique Hernandez on MLB team owners being guilty of collusion
An MLB spokesperson declined to comment on the controversial remarks made by Hernandez, but it should be noted that collusion is forbidden among MLB owners.
Hernandez wasn’t done with his rant.
“I mean, it’s been terrible. There’s still a lot of really good quality baseball players, big leaguers that are more than capable of being everyday guys on a lot of teams, and the fact that they’re still out there, it’s a shame. It seems like a lot of the owners had an excuse in terms of the TV deal and things like that. It was a very weird offseason and it still is for some guys. It doesn’t seem like things are picking up either for some of those guys, which is shameful.”
Kike Hernandez, continued
It is indeed shameful. Free agency in other sports takes place in a matter of hours if not days. Yet, for whatever reason, MLB’s process takes several months, with many top players still unsigned despite camps having been open for over a week now.
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