Jeter’s Fish in hot water with MLBPA
How is all the revenue sharing money being spent?
That is the question the Major League Baseball Players Association wants answered with regard to four franchises, including the Derek Jeter-owned Marlins.
A union spokesman confirmed that the MLBPA filed a grievance with the commissioner’s office Friday, in which it claims that the Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Pirates and A’s are not complying with the revenue sharing rules as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement.
Last month the union fired a preliminary salvo when it communicated its concerns about the Marlins’ and Pirates’ spending habits to baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.
“We are waiting to have further dialogue and that will dictate our next steps,” the union said in a statement last month.
Apparently the Players Association and its executive director, Tony Clark, were unsatisfied with where that dialogue went, and the union took the next step, filing its grievance with baseball. The union added the Rays and A’s to its list of teams that the union feels are in violation of CBA rules. The matter will next be heard by a neutral, third-party arbitrator, who will decide whether or not the four teams have complied with revenue sharing rules.
“We have received the complaint and believe it has no merit,” MLB said in a statement Tuesday.
The four teams will have an opportunity to argue their case before the arbitrator, but Jeter, the Marlins chief executive officer, and Pirates president Frank Coonelly already took aim at the union’s allegations against their teams.
“As we have done since the day we took over in October, we will continue to do everything we can to build a foundation for sustained success and improve this organization — which has not made the postseason since 2003 and has gone eight seasons without a winning record,” Jeter said in a statement to the Daily News. Coonelly was equally blunt. “The MLBPA’s grievance against the Pirates is patently baseless. We look forward to demonstrating as much to the Arbitrator if the MLBPA continues to pursue this meritless claim,” Coonelly said in a statement obtained by the Daily News. “As indicated when the MLBPA first expressed its “concern” in a press release, the Pirates have always invested their revenue sharing receipts in a manner entirely consistent with the Basic Agreement. As previously indicated, our revenue sharing receipts have decreased for seven consecutive seasons while our Major League payroll has more than doubled over this same period.
“Our revenue sharing receipts are now just a fraction of what we spend on Major League payroll. We also have made significant investments in scouting, signing amateur players, our player development system and our baseball facilities. It is regrettable and that the MLBPA would react to a free agent market that is apparently not to its liking by filing a frivolous grievance against a Club that has continued to invest heavily in all areas of its Baseball Operations notwithstanding steadily diminishing revenue sharing receipts,” said Coonelly in the statement.
Jeter is part of an ownership group that includes businessman Bruce Sherman. The Jeter/Sherman group purchased the Marlins from previous owner Jeffrey Loria for a reported $1.2 billion last year. But the former Yankee captain inherited a team with substantial debt, yearly losses estimated at $60-70 million, not to mention a frustrated fan base that has not seen a Marlins playoff team since 2003, when they beat Jeter’s Yankees in the World Series.
One of the first orders of business by Jeter in his new CEO position was to trade his entire starting outfield — reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton (to the Yankees), Christian Yelich (to the Brewers) and Marcell Ozuna (to the Cardinals). Jeter also traded infielder Dee Gordon to the Mariners. The Pirates, meanwhile, traded star outfielder Andrew McCutchen to the Giants, and pitcher Gerrit Cole to the World Series champion Astros. The Rays traded star third baseman Evan Longoria to the Giants this winter.
According to the Basic Agreement, small market teams like the Marlins and Pirates are supposed to receive a larger share of the overall revenue teams make in their local markets, as well as a portion of revenue from national broadcasting deals. Teams are supposed to use that revenue sharing money to sign free agents, add to payroll, or pump money into their farm system and scouting and player development operations.
This winter the free agent market has moved at a glacial pace, sparking a war of words between Clark and MLB, with Clark saying teams had engaged in a “race to the bottom” that “threatens the integrity of the game.”
A Rays spokesman declined comment on the union’s grievance.