BRADENTON, Fla. – After a 99-day lockout, the new collective bargaining agreement that Major League Baseball and the players association struck is very similar to the status quo.
At the very beginning, there was a proposal from the owners for a salary floor to be implemented, but it was quickly thrown out by the players because it came with a drastic decrease in the competitive balance tax ceiling. Neither side expressed any public desire to revisit such a proposal.
Instead, the CBT was raised higher and there were very small tweaks to revenue sharing among teams, but one that will have a negligible effect on evening the playing field with salary.
If there’s any good news for the Pirates, it’s that many proposals that would have hurt them like allowing players to reach free agency or arbitration sooner, were left on the cutting room floor.
Still, for a team that has had one of the two lowest team payrolls for the last two seasons, and will likely enter the year in the same position, that’s hardly a concession when compared to a team like the Mets, who will likely enter the season spending at least four times as much on player salary as the Pirates.
Despite no real changes to the Pirates’ financial situation, Ben Cherington was thankful that the season can start, fans can watch games again and that he feels his boss, Bob Nutting, made his point.
“Bob recognizes that’s important and wants what’s best for the game globally and wants what’s best for the Pirates,” Cherington told reporters Monday. “He’s been a really strong advocate for Pittsburgh, for teams like Pittsburgh, as far as what will give us and teams like us the best chance to succeed and prosper. He has fought hard for those issues and will continue to fight hard.”
All MLB owners, including Nutting, voted in favor of the new CBA last week.
Nutting was not one of the owners at the negotiating table, but Cherington pointed out Nutting's connections within the game and how he made sure his voice was heard.
The influence of that deal won't just be felt by owners, though.
“The CBA is one of the issues but there are things we have lot more control over locally," he said. "Certainly, one is relationship with players. We believe the more trust we have with players, the better chance we have to win. In every conversation and every interaction we can do things to build more trust. So that’s a small thing that we have control over here in Pittsburgh and I’m lucky that our manager and our coaching staff and our support staff do a great job of doing that every day.”
That new CBA is remarkably similar to the old one, meaning the Pirates will face the same challenges that he knew were coming when he took over as the GM for a small market team. Cherington has said repeatedly that he has assurances that payroll will grow when the opportunity is right, which given the state of the Pirates’ rebuild, could be as soon as next year.
“Nothing changes as far as what we need to do to build a winning team,” Cherington said.
MORE FROM THE GM
• Running through some other changes to the CBA and Cherington's thoughts on them:
Potentially implementing an international draft: It would have to come down to how it is implemented and making sure baseball remains a strong part of their culture, but "generally speaking, we would support the pursuit of figuring out a way to do that that is fair."
On the designated hitter: "Being in the American League [with the Red Sox], I’m kind of used to the DH. It’s not new. And it’s on the books, so we’re going to learn to work with it here and make it part of the team we’re building.”
On the draft lottery: "We know that young talent is incredibly important to the Pirates. The draft is an important part of bringing young talent into the organization, but you can find players in every round of the draft. Our job in baseball ops is to set up a process in scouting and the way we analyze information where we’re giving ourselves a chance to get good players in every round, not just the first. That doesn’t change."
• One rule change that could have an impact on the Pirates' farm system regards service time.Top prospects who finish in the top two of rookie of the year voting will receive a full year of service time, regardless if they were on the opening day roster or if they were promoted midseason. On the other hand, if a player finishes in the top three in rookie of the year voting and was on the opening day roster, the team is awarded bonus draft picks.
Oneil Cruz is the preseason favorite for rookie of the year, though Cherington will not make any roster decisions based on new rules.
"What’s best for the player? What’s in this player’s best interest in terms of their development? What gives this player the best possible chance to be the best player for the Pirates and contribute to as much winning with the Pirates as possible. That’s gonna answer most of that question. In terms of policy, the hard thing about policy is we don’t know exactly what the impact of any new rule will be. We’ll all learn about that over time. If there are new rules on the books, then it’s part of our job in baseball operations to figure out what that means and look at what the impact of that would be and consider it if it makes sense to. But I’d want to focus most of the conversation around young players on what’s best for them."
I followed up by asking if Cruz is in the competition for an opening day job. Cherington was noncommittal, saying, “he, along with a lot of other infielders here in camp, will have an opportunity to compete for playing time and jobs.”
• So far, the Pirates have not made a significant roster move since the lockout ended, signing catcher Taylor Davis to a minor-league contract and claiming lefty Aaron Fletcher off waivers.
The Pirates have been in talks with players and teams to try to add to their group before spring training breaks.
“We’re confident that we’ll be able to add to this team through free agency and/or trade.”
• Two players are not in camp at the moment: Yoshi Tsutsugo, who was at his home in Japan when the new CBA was reached and has yet to make it back stateside, and Hoy Park, who tested positive for COVID-19 in his native South Korea and is not allowed to leave yet.
Cherington is optimistic both will report soon.
