MLB players, owners reach tentative labor deal
Cespedes, Mets finalize $110m, 4-year contract
IRVING, Texas, Dec 1, (AP): Baseball players and owners reached a tentative agreement Wednesday on a five-year labor contract that will extend the sport’s industrial peace to 26 years.
After days of near round-the-clock talks, negotiators reached a verbal agreement about 3-1/2 hours before the expiration of the current pact. Then they worked to draft a memorandum of understanding, which must be ratified by both sides.
“Happy it’s done, and baseball is back on,” Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy said.
One key issue was the level of ‘luxury tax’ which is a tax paid by teams that exceed a set level of salary payments; effectively operating as a soft salary cap.
As part of the new deal, the level at which the luxury tax kicks in rises from $189 million this year to $195 million next year, $197 million in 2018, $206 million in 2019, $209 million in 2020 and $210 million in 2021, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been signed.
Teams that exceed those amounts must pay a percentage of the amount by which they go over. The rate will increase from the current 17.5 percent to 20 percent of excess payments for first offenders, remain at 30 percent for second offenders and rise from 40 percent to 50 percent for third offenders. There is a new surtax of 12 percent for teams $20 million to $40 million above the threshold, 42.5 percent for first offenders more than $40 million above the threshold and 45 percent for subsequent offenders more than $40 million above.
A player can receive a free-agent qualifying offer only once in his career and will have 10 days to consider it, instead of seven. A club signing a player who failed to accept a qualifying offer would lose its third-highest amateur draft pick if it is a revenue-sharing receiver, its second- and fifth-highest picks (plus a loss of $1 million in its international draft pool) if it pays luxury tax for the just-ended season, and its second-highest pick (plus $500,000 in the international draft pool) if it is any other team.
A club losing a free agent who declined a qualifying offer would receive an extra selection after the first round of the next draft if the player signed a contract for $50 million or more and after the competitive balance B round if under $50 million. However, if that team pays luxury tax, the extra draft pick would drop to after the fourth round. Among other details:
For a team $40 million or more in excess of the luxury tax threshold, its highest selection in the next amateur draft will drop 10 places.
n There will not be an international draft of amateurs residing outside the US, Puerto Rico and Canada, but there will be a hard cap on each team’s annual bonus pool for those players, starting at $4.75 million for the signing period that starts next July 2.
There is no change to limits on active rosters, which remain at 25 for most of the season and 40 from Sept. 1 on.
The regular season will lengthen from 183 days to 187 starting in 2018, creating four more scheduled off days. There are additional limitations on the start time of night games on getaway days.
The minimum salary rises from $507,500 to $535,000 next year, $545,000 in 2018 and $555,000 in 2019, with cost-of-living increases the following two years; the minor league minimum for a player appearing on the 40-man roster for at least the second time goes up from $82,700 to $86,500 next year, $88,000 in 2018 and $89,500 in 2019, followed by costof-living raises.
As part of the drug agreement, there will be increased testing, players will not be credited with major league service time during suspensions, and biomarker testing for HGH will begin next year.
Baseball had eight work stoppages from 1972-95, the last a 7- 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 that led to the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years. The 2002 agreement was reached after players authorized a strike and about 3-1/2 hours before the first game that would have been impacted by a walkout.
Meanwhile, having finalized a $110 million, four-year contract with the New York Mets, Yoenis Cespedes declared: “God willing, I will finish my career with this team.”
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson quickly interjected: “God willing, and a no-trade clause, by the way.”
The video board on the wall of Citi Field’s news conference room featured a photo of the slugging outfielder and the hashtag: “YOGotHim.”
A two-time All-Star, Cespedes gets $22.5 million in 2017, $29 million in each of the following two seasons and $29.5 million in 2020.
“I just knew I wanted to be back,” Cespedes said through an interpreter. “I think just the way teammates received me with open arms made me feel very welcome.”
The 31-year-old received a full notrade provision as part of the agreement, the largest for a free agent thus far this offseason. The deal’s $27.5 million average annual value ties former Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for the second-highest among position players, trailing only Miguel Cabrera’s $29.2 million with Detroit.
Acquired by the Mets from the Tigers at the July 31 trade deadline in 2015, Cespedes had 17 home runs and 44 RBIs in 57 games with the Mets down the stretch, helping them reach the World Series for the first time since 2000.
The Atlanta Braves have finalized an $11.5 million, two-year contract with utility player Sean Rodriguez.
The team announced the deal Wednesday after Rodriguez passed a physical. The 31-year-old provides depth with major league starts at every position except catcher. He hit .270 with 18 homers and 56 RBI — all career highs — for Pittsburgh in 2016.
Rodriguez has his most career starts at second base but saw more time at first base with the Pirates last season. He has a .234 career batting average in nine seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh.