Mather resigns after Rotary talk
Blunt comments force exec to quit Mariners
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 — a former Bonanza High School standout — 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 the 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.
“Not just because of what was said, but also because it represents an unfiltered look into club thinking,” the union said. “It is offensive, and it is not surprising that fans and others around the game are offended as well. Players remain committed to confronting these issues at the bargaining table and elsewhere.”
Mather said his comments were his own and did not reflect the strategy of the leadership that makes decisions about player development.
New additions
Freddie Freeman isn’t reporting with the Atlanta Braves’ position players Tuesday after the birth of his twin sons.
Freeman and wife Chelsea on Sunday used their Twitter accounts to announce the additions of twin sons. Their first son, Charlie, was born in 2016.
“I’ll be honest with you, he doesn’t need to be here,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I’m kind of glad he’s doing what he’s doing right now.”
Snitker said Freeman will have to spend “a couple days” away from teammates after reporting, because of coronavirus protocols.
Trout’s burden
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout says not winning a postseason game is a bit hard to take.
“It’s definitely weighed on me,” Trout said Monday before the team’s first full workout. “I hear it every year. The only way to change that is to get to the playoffs, no matter how that is.”
Trout turns 30 this summer. The Angels haven’t made the postseason since 2014.