MLB, MLBPA Met for a Heated 90-Minute Discussion Tuesday Afternoon

Tuesday afternoon saw the fourth meeting between MLBPA and MLB officials. When the MLB season begins is in their hands.

© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The high in Philadelphia was 39 degrees on Tuesday. It might be cold, but Philadelphia Phillies baseball should be just around the corner when pitchers and catchers report in 13 days on Feb. 14, right?

The MLB and MLBPA met for a heated 90 minutes Tuesday afternoon. Among the topics of discussion were service-time manipulation and pre-arbitration bonus pool.

Minor concessions were made on the part of the MLBPA. Previously, the players association demanded a pre-arbitration bonus pool of $105 million, but that request has been lowered just nearly 5% to $100 million.

Currently pre-arbitration eligible players are entirely under team control, a pre-arbitration bonus would see them paid closer to their actual value for their respective clubs.

Other MLBPA requests included modification of service time rules. According to current rules, MLB clubs may stash their top prospects in the minor leagues for the first few weeks of the season in order to add an extra year of team control before free agency.

The MLBPA proposal to circumvent that includes adding a full-year of service time to rookies who finish in the top five in their league for Rookie of the Year voting, top three for Reliever of the Year or made first- or second-team All-MLB. Also qualifying would be non-outfielders and non-pitchers who place top 10 at their positions in their respective leagues according to an average of bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR) and fWAR (Fangraphs WAR). Starting pitchers, relief pitchers and outfielders who place top 30 would also qualify.

This proposal adds an element of subjectivity to MLB contracts. Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year are voting on by BBWAA and All-MLB is voted on by fans. 

Even WAR is fallible. There are dozens of different computations for determining the value of a player in one number, but bWAR and fWAR are the most prevalent.

Clearly, proposals from both sides are rife with detail and even the minutiae of these major economic proposals.

The MLB and MLBPA have yet to schedule a follow-up meeting. When exactly that will be or when exactly the season will begin still hangs in the balance. It is in the hands of the owners and players who attend these meetings. Now the ball is in the owners court, we’ll have to wait to see what their return may be.

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