Seattle CEO ignites battle
Mather resigns after insensitive remarks
As far as Anthony Rizzo is concerned, Kevin Mather simply said the quiet part out loud.
Mather, the CEO and president of the Seattle Mariners, resigned Monday after video surfaced of a speech he gave to a Rotary Club this month in which he made insensitive comments about several current and former players.
He also spoke bluntly on a point of contention between teams and players when he said Seattle would likely keep top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert in the minors at the start of the season to delay their right to file for free agency.
The players’ association has long complained about the practice. Cubs star Kris Bryant filed and lost a grievance against Chicago alleging the club intentionally manipulated his service time when it kept him in Triple-a for two weeks prior to his major league debut in 2015. Had Bryant been promoted one day earlier, he would have been eligible for free agency a year sooner.
Bryant and the union lost their grievance because it couldn’t prove the Cubs acted in bad faith.
“Being in this game, you know what (Mather) said is true to about 99.9 percent. It happens. It’s just not out there and it’s just not said,” said Rizzo, Bryant’s teammate with the Cubs. “There’s stories written on it. There’s teams that manipulate service time. There’s teams that do it all the time. … I’m happy it’s out there in the public now and people are seeing that this is the way it is.”
The players’ association said in a statement Monday that the video was “a highly disturbing yet critically important window into how players are genuinely viewed by management.”
Yankees: Ace Gerrit Cole is the likely starter for manager Aaron Boone in the season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1. Cole went 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA over 12 starts in last year’s abbreviated season, his first in pinstripes after signing a $324 million, nine-year contract as a free agent. Boone said Cole’s appearance in the opener is “safe to say.” “I thought stuff was pretty good,” Boone said after Cole threw 26 pitches during a five-batter outing. Right-hander Luis Severino, coming back from Tommy John surgery last February, expects to advance to throwing other pitches in addition to fastballs next week.
Angels: Albert Pujols’ wife apparently disclosed that the L.A. slugger will retire after the upcoming season, although she later amended her social media post to be less definitive.
Diamondbacks: Arizona agreed to a $2.25 million, one-year contract with reliever Tyler Clippard.
Braves: NL MVP Freddie Freeman won’t report with Atlanta’s position players on Tuesday following the birth of his twin sons. Manager Brian Snitker said Monday he supports Freeman arriving later in the week. Also, Atlanta claimed outfielder Phillip Ervin off waivers from the Cubs.