In a second consecutive slow MLB free agency season, many of the best players remain unsigned; this has led to rumblings about ownership collusion.
Interestingly, Alex Rodriguez – who set records with his MLB free agency opportunities – believes that owners have begun colluding to lower player salaries and increase profits.
He shared these thoughts with ESPN on their “Get Up!” program. The proof for him involved his contract and MLB revenues when he signed compared to current signings and the 2018 revenues. Business Insider shared details about the show.
In it, Rodriguez said:
"“For me, what’s interesting about the game and what’s happening is, in 2001, I signed my big deal with the Texas Rangers for $252 [million]. And the industry has tripled in revenues, north of $10 billion, up from $2.8 [billion], and the salaries have stayed flat for almost 20 years. It’s mind-blowing.”"
The strangest thing is that so many good players – from Bryce Harper and Manny Machado to Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel to Jose Iglesias and Marwin Gonzalez – do not have contracts.
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But, what’s also strange is that the players who are off the board signed for one or two years and low dollar amounts – especially position players. The longest contracts signed this off-season are three-year deals for Andrew McCutchen and Eduardo Escobar.
That’s it.
What’s most shocking is the lack of teams interested Harper and Machado. The Chicago White Sox offered Machado a contract and rumor has it a “mystery team” is interested in him. But, no teams have shared any information about contract offers for Harper.
It’s almost become a joke that these two are still on the board. And, the one team that was expected to go after Harper – the Dodgers, reportedly signed A.J. Pollock to fill the hole in the outfield.
A-Rod is not the only player who is noticing the stingy offers from wealthy owners. Chicago Cubs Kris Bryant told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times:
"“It’s really weird. Two of the best players in the game, and they have very little interest [from many teams], just from what I hear.”"
There were rumors that Machado and Harper would sign record-setting contracts in the range of $300 million over 10 years. But, teams don’t seem to want to sign anyone for an extended period of time. Instead, many seem to prefer young players who make the league minimum – around $500,000.
With analytics driving roster decisions, front offices can see player flaws. One of the flaws seems to be age, as the older players – with the exception of McCutchen – aren’t getting contracts longer than one year. Jake Arrieta made an attempt to warn young players to pay close attention to this new trend.
Interestingly, the Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen thought MLB owners were colluding in the previous off-season. In early February 2018, he was a players’ agent and told Gabe Lacques of USA Today:
"“Many club presidents and general managers … are frustrated with the lack of funds to sign the plethora of good players still available, raising further suspicion of institutional influence over the spending.”"
Now that Van Wagenen is a GM, he has been busy adding quality position players to support his outstanding pitching. But, he has been an anomaly as many front offices have been quiet or cheap.
But, his feeling from 2018 could apply in 2019. Who wouldn’t want Machado, Harper, Keuchel, Kimbrel, and many of the other free agents still waiting for contracts? The fact that they are still available and the trend of short contracts with low average annual value sure does sound like A-Rod and Bryant might just be on to something in 2019 that Van Wagenen noticed in 2018.