Mets' Max Scherzer, MLB Players Sound Off On MLB's Request For Mediator In CBA Negotiations

Mets' Max Scherzer and other MLB players took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with MLB's request to bring in a federal mediator to get involved in CBA negotiations.

Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports

With just 11 days to go until pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training, negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement between MLB and MLBPA have hit a stand still. 

In the wake of several meetings earlier in the week, MLB decided not to offer a counterproposal to the union, and instead requested to bring a federal mediator to the table.

This request was whole heartedly dismissed by the player's union, which led them to release the following statement on Friday.

“Two months after implementing their lockout, and just two days after committing to Players that a counterproposal would be made, the owners refused to make a counter, and instead requested mediation. After consultation with our Executive Board, and taking into account a variety of factors, we have declined this request.

“The clearest path to a fair and timely agreement is to get back to the table. Players stand ready to negotiate.”

The league's request for a mediator was seen by the player's union as a publicity stunt. And as a result, a number of players took to Twitter earlier today to voice their displeasure with the current standing of labor negotiations. 

Mets star pitcher Max Scherzer, who is an executive subcommittee member for MLBPA, provided a detailed description this afternoon as to why the two sides are so far apart at the moment.  

“We want a system where threshold and penalties don’t function as caps, allows younger players to realize more of their market value, makes service time manipulation a thing of the past, and eliminate tanking as a winning strategy,” Scherzer wrote in a tweet.

Back in 1994 during baseball's last strike, a mediator was brought in and it wound up resulting in a cancellation of the World Series. MLB and MLBPA did not resolve their labor issue until seven months after the mediator got involved. So, the players do not feel that this is the right time to take this measure.

MLB also released a statement of their own on Friday, reiterating their desire for mediation and hope for spring training and the regular season to start on time. 

“It is time to get assistance.”

Major League Baseball responded today to the MLBPA rejecting the intervention of a federal mediator. The entire statement, via a league spokesman: pic.twitter.com/3jGBLPGudX

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 4, 2022

This move resulted in further frustration from the players, and saw Yankees pitchers Jameson Taillon and Zack Britton chime in on Twitter as well.

“If the goal is to get players on the field asap- then why did it take 43 days after the lockout to even hear from MLB?,” Taillon tweeted following the release of MLB’s statement. “Didn’t seem like a priority then! Why did we not get a counter proposal this week? It’s all extremely tired antics/optics.”

“When attempting to negotiate a collectively bargained agreement… “bargaining” is required,” Britton tweeted.

MLBPA's rejection of a mediator comes as no surprise. MLB opted for a lockout on Dec. 2 and then did not meet with the union until 43 days later. There have been only four meetings since the work stoppage began over the course of the last two months. 

In fact, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement on Dec. 2, claiming that a lockout would speed up negotiations for a new CBA, which hasn't been close to the reality. 

Mets relief pitcher Trevor May had some strong words to say about Manfred on his latest Twitch live stream as well.

"[MLB is] not even attempting to make real offers," said May. "If you think there is good-faith negotiation happening right now, there isn’t . . . Not a single negotiation with the guy [MLB commissioner Rob Manfred] has been good-faith. [Manfred] doesn’t do good-faith things."

In the end, if MLB doesn't listen to the mass amount of players urging them to go back to the table to work things out, spring training will likely be delayed. And if this occurs, the start of the regular season could get pushed back as well.