Chicago Cubs: Tony Clark accuses teams of “race to the bottom”

The MLBPA fired their first statements of the offseason, as Tony Clark claimed that teams were in a “race to the bottom.” This will have repercussions, but Clark stopped short of saying it was collusion by the league.

When the Chicago Cubs–and for that matter–the Houston Astros took on the difficult task of ‘tanking’, they knew it would be difficult. But about five or six years later, the Cubs and Astros are the two most recent winners of the World Series. It was a hard road for each franchise and many wondered if it would be worth it in the end. Well, it was. And now other teams are starting to get in on the action.

This led MLBPA chief, Tony Clark, to level some serious allegations against MLB organizations. While he wasn’t willing to go as far as calling collusion, he did say that teams are failing to engage the market in earnest. Either way, this is nothing to joke about as the MLBPA won’t stand for this. Here is Clark’s full statement, provided by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:

"“Pitchers and catchers will report to camps in Florida and Arizona next week. A record number of talented free agents remain unemployed in an industry where revenues and franchise values are at record highs.Spring Training has always been associated with hope for a new season. This year a significant number of teams are engaged in a race to the bottom. This conduct is a fundamental breach of the trust between a team and its fans and threatens the very integrity of our game.”"

So what does this mean?

How you look at this will depend on your current view of the game. If you’re one of the many that feels that ballplayers are overpaid–you might not care that the MLBPA and its players have considered boycotting the start of free agency.

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Others will point to the overwhelming use of metrics in the game, and how it’s changed the way players are seen–especially in their later years.

Coincidentally, many of the bigger names still on the market aren’t 25. They’re 30+, and teams aren’t willing to take on a long-term deal.

It’s started with a couple of kids

The Cubs decided to start their monumental task of turning the franchise around by signing Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro. Rizzo has worked out and now sits in the middle of this talented Cubs lineup. But Castro did not and was eventually shipped off to New York.

Now he resides in Miami, and he doesn’t really want to be there, either. Essentially he was stuck through the rebuild in Chicago, then traded away. And now they the Yankees look primed to win? He’s been dealt to a Marlins teams that are doing the same.

Within the limits

Rob Manfred has previously commented on “tanking”, saying that it was within the limits of the CBA. But if too many teams tried for the “race to the bottom”, there would be losers. The Cubs and Astros might have hit the market just right as there were few teams doing it then.

Now? There are about six to eight teams in the running, the rest are chasing them. Even the Minnesota Twins last year got caught in-between. They still made the playoffs, even when they didn’t expect too.

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With just eight days before the Cubs report to spring training, it’s more than just a wonder if they’re going to sign someone. Will the MLBPA decide to take action against the league and boycott spring training? Or are these empty words as the MLBPA hopes the teams will eventually come through?

There have been many offers to potential free agents, but not to their liking. Personally, not wanting to be locked into a long-term deal with an aging star makes sense. But that doesn’t sit well with those stars. Let’s hope cooler heads will prevail, as I don’t want to see any of the Cubs “window” taken away by this.