Welcome to the first edition of the Left On Base mailbag. There are a lot of questions about how negotiations are going, or how it works. One thing I’ve found as a labor reporter is that what might be common knowledge for those on the beat isn’t widely known by readers, who should have access to the same knowledge. That means it’s time to open the floor for questions so this process becomes less of a mystery for the public.
briesmith.xyz: How involved are the players in the actual negotiations at the table versus union staff? Are Skenes and Skubal actually in the room at some point or is it all just relaying the negotiations to the executive committee from staff and lawyers?
To my knowledge, the executive subcommittee and team representatives have regular zoom calls to discuss what is going on in negotiations and are present through bargaining. I don’t know exactly which players are part of which negotiation sessions but I can confirm that players are at the table for it.
krou88.bsky.social: Would a MLB lockout next season also take effect in the minor leagues, since minor leaguers are now covered in the CBA? Either way, what effect would a lockout have on minor leaguers?
Since Minor League Baseball has a separate CBA (which expires Dec. 1, 2027, so one year after the MLB one), the season will go as planned, regardless. The only effect a Major League lockout would have is on players who are on the 40-man roster, since they are under the MLB CBA. I’d expect a lot of roster shuffling to fill in the spots that otherwise would’ve been for 40-man players but that would be the extent of the impact.
ronaldyuan.bsky.social: Watched some ~smart~ baseball analyst vids on how this trade lined up in terms of surplus value for each team.. obviously based on all sorts of fangraphs FV and WAR projections/costs which claimed that the two headlining prospects (Hope and Ryan) at 50/55 would be worth $45 mil surplus each! Compared that to $32 mil for 2months of Skubal it’s an “overpay” from front offices’ perspectives… BUT my question is does (or why doesn’t) the PA think about players’ (surplus) values in these terms? Is it too nerdy to say that WAR production per minimum salary clearly means that young players are severely underpaid for what they provide to teams, so that’s why prospects are so valuable to “smart” from offices?? Seems like they might be losing the public narrative battle by not fighting harder for controlled young players’ salaries (in a way that I’m sure agencies/reps would very much care to correct, no?). I guess I’m actually most interested in the last part regarding agencies’ role in labor?? Do they actually advocate on the players’ (younger ones especially) behalf during collective bargaining?!
I can’t say that I know the exact specifics of how the PA uses metrics, though I do know that it is something they analyze and have access to. Otherwise, that’s not something I can speak much about.
As far as what roles agencies have, I am not sure to what extent their roles are in advocating for players, but I think back to what Scott Boras did with J. D. Drew that caused Drew to become a target of batteries for Philadelphians. Boras advocated for the dollar amount that he thought Drew was worth signing for as a top draft pick — more than $10 million — while the Phillies countered with $2.05 million. Yes, that’s a lot of money in 1997, and still a lot of money now, but that is still advocating for what an agent thinks a player is worth. It vexed Philadelphia then, and likely still would now, but when you look at it through a labor lens, it just looks like an agent arguing on behalf of his client who he thinks should get paid for what his labor is worth.
Some people might argue that Boras is a ruthless, money-focused agent who likes to make splashy headlines and provide quips for the scribes. But it’s also worth considering that MLB is not a clean economy — the fact that everyone takes as a given that the owners will lock the players out once the CBA expires says a lot about how the league operates — so it’s almost akin to fighting fire with fire. It’s the argument that labor should be entitled to all it creates, so why wouldn’t an agent like Boras try to argue for every last dime?
Past that, I don’t know of any involvement agencies have on arguing on behalf of players during negotiations and, to my knowledge, are not in the negotiation room. That said, player reps do argue on behalf of younger players and there seems to be a solidarity for those so-called “cost-controlled” players and also those in the minor leagues based on the conversations I’ve had with reps.
LOB Editor Ed Carroll: What do you think an Aaron Sorkin series about baseball labor negotiations would look like
There would be a lot of dramatics, which are probably already in play here. Also a lot of on the field walk and talks, or something in the bowels of a stadium, before the press box walk and talk, which come to think of it aren’t necessarily uncommon. There’s also probably a lot of complaints about the watercooler constantly being empty. No one’s doing The Jackal, but I’m sure Sorkin can’t resist playing a lot of pop country music against my will.
Do you have questions about labor negotiations that you’ve always had but weren’t sure who to ask? I can try my best to answer with the knowledge that I do have. Questions can be sent over email to [email protected] or send me a DM on bluesky.
This story was edited by Jeremy Nielsen and Ed Carroll.