Over the coming days and weeks, I suspect plenty of teams — both small and big markets — and plenty of player representatives will bemoan the collective bargaining agreement that was tentatively agreed to Wednesday evening a few hours before the deadline.
This will discomfort Rob Manfred, who was not a universally supported choice for commissioner, and also Tony Clark, not the overtly obvious heir to run the Players Association, and because both sides still have to ratify the agreement there may be saber rattling yet.
But that there was such little seismic alteration in this new five-year agreement speaks loudest to why there had to be a settlement — times are good for the sport and there was not the kind of issue on the table, like imposing a salary cap, that produces labor war and, ultimately, work stoppages.
The most important thing Manfred and Clark had to do in their first negotiation in their new roles was to avoid reminding the public of what used to be (regular work stoppages) and continue what has been since the horror of a missed World Series in 1994 and replacement players in spring 1995.
The uninterrupted play has been central to MLB growing to a $10 billion annual enterprise (and rising) with record sales prices for franchises and record salaries for players. Now, the sport is assured of 27 years without a lockout or strike and the nastiness that goes with it. See everyone again in five years.
The initial information that leaked out did not paint a full picture and those involved cautioned that elements still could change or be perceived differently once the full scope of the agreement is aired. But initially no side got exactly what it wanted, which is standard for a negotiation and should foster rebukes, which I already was hearing Wednesday night.
MLB talked long about getting an international draft. There won’t be one, but there will be set caps for each team. MLB wanted a 26th roster spot in exchange for more limited expanded rosters in September. Instead, the current rules apparently will stay in place, which would mean expansion to a 40-man roster come September, something the players did not want changed.
The union and big-market teams such as the Yankees probably wanted the luxury-tax thresholds to grow substantially, so those mega-clubs would spend more aggressively and still have a way to avoid penalties. They did not rise substantially. The current threshold of $189 million will grow to $195 million next year and to just $210 million in Year 5 of the deal. There also will be a larger penalty for those that exceed the threshold by a substantial amount — think of it as a Dodger penalty.
In the final year of the deal, a team above $255 million and a repeat offender will have the portion above that amount taxed at 60 percent or more.
The qualifying offer will stay, but no longer will a team that signs a qualified free agent lose a first-round pick. From now on, teams over the luxury-tax threshold will lose second- and fifth-round picks and international slot money while those under the threshold only will lose a third-round pick. That will mean freer free agency for the players.
Again, this is all tinkering with pre-existing elements of the previous CBA. The owners threatened a possible lockout had there not been an understanding in place by midnight Wednesday into Thursday. But they did not really have the stomach to derail the positive momentum after a memorable playoffs and World Series.
And the union did not really want to end business as normal — which a lockout would have created — when so many of its members are free agents looking for deals.
These are the good times, and the people in charge accepted the reality that they were going to annoy many of their constituents with an imperfect deal. But they decided the far greater danger to all involved — including the sport — was no deal. So they stared at the abyss and then did what logic entailed: made a deal.