Rob Manfred already seems to have completed more than enough tasks to earn his "worst commissioner in U.S. sports" merit badge, but presumably just to be sure we learned Thursday that MLB owners — in whose interest Manfred serves — want a federal mediator to help resolve their labor issues with players.
Twins' Mitch Garver tweets MLB is 'dragging its heels' in negotiations
Players seem to be getting frustrated, and rightfully so, after MLB owners locked them out and then asked for mediation.
February 4, 2022 at 8:47PM
To recap: Step 1 — owners lock out the players. Step 2 — Owners show no urgency in negotiation. Step 3 — They ask for help in fixing the problem they created.
If that all sounds pretty outrageous, it is unfortunately par for the course when it comes to baseball in recent years under Manfred.
It sounds like players are fed up — and rightfully so.
Twins catcher Mitch Garver on Thursday, in three separate tweets, said this:
"I think it's no secret the state of baseball is at a crossroads. One side has done all it can do to negotiate through the lockout, and the other side has refused to do the same. We the players have negotiated in good faith the same way we did in 2020 during the shortened season. ... The ploy used by the league to hire a federal mediator to work through the lockout is a tactic to show they are bargaining in good faith. We the players want to get to the bargaining table ASAP to get ready for the 2022 season. ... The only thing holding us back is the league dragging their heels on negotiations that will lead to lost games in 2022. I feel bad for the fans mostly because I know all players want to be at ST in a few weeks, so when we're ready to figure it out the players will be ready."
Amen. It's probably also not a great sign for the league that Garver also tweeted this:
Garver is a good example of the type of player squeezed by MLB's current economic model. He played college baseball and was a late bloomer in the pros, earning consistent playing time in 2018 at age 27. Now he's 31, but he won't be eligible for free agency until 2024.
While Garver still stands to make millions of dollars in his career, his prime is being eaten up by minimum salaries and arbitration seasons — nice for cost-conscious teams like the Twins, but not great for players.
A change in that economic model is a core issue in negotiations. The players seem eager to talk about it. The owners would rather assign blame.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
