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MLB Roundup 1/29: There’s more tension between players and the league

And another low-level reliever signing

By Matt_Collins
World Series - Los Angeles Dodgers v Houston Astros - Game Four Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

The Players have complained about the Marlins and Pirates

This has been the strangest offseason I can remember since I started following baseball, and it’s not just for the lack of action. Sure, that lack of action has certainly been the catalyst, but there has been more tension between the players and league than I can ever remember. It continued over the weekend when the Players Union lodged a complaint against the Marlins and Pirates, a couple of teams who have torn down their rosters this winter. The players accuse both teams of pocketing revenue-sharing money that is supposed to be put back into the on-field product. It’s unlikely that anything will come of this complaint — these things rarely turn into anything real, though it’s always possible — but it does show that the players are paying attention to what’s going on and don’t want to see any funny business. We’re still a few ways away from this current CBA expiring and a lot can change between now and 2021. That being said, chances are higher than ever that a strike will occur when the time comes, a scenario that’s even being mentioned by players themselves. Hopefully, things cool off between now and then.

  • The Diamondbacks signed Neftali Feliz last night in the biggest roster move to occur over the weekend. Can you feel the excitement?
  • The Dodgers, meanwhile, are looking to trade Matt Kemp after acquiring him in a luxury tax-manipulating deal earlier in the winter. Kemp still has some power in that bat even if he’s not the player he once was and could fit as a DH. The Red Sox are looking for DH help, though Kemp is on the expensive side and he’s not so good that you’d clearly prefer him over Hanley Ramirez.
  • Down in Baltimore, Manny Machado has been a big focus for the Orioles all winter long. For now, it appears they are going to hang on to their young star and play out the year with him in tow. They’ve also decided where he’ll play, as Buck Showalter indicated the plan to play Machado at shortstop this year.

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