Those hoping for a more straightforward, competitive offseason among MLB teams should probably stop.
A week into the offseason, we've already seen a few teams downplay their interest in adding salaries.
The Cubs: “We should be able to be consistent without windows,” Ricketts said on 670 The Score. “We have the resources financially. We have good, young players. Maybe we can’t keep them all because of the salaries they’ll demand over the next few years. But, ultimately, now I think we can stop talking about windows. We should be consistent, and we should be looking toward building a division-winning team every year.”
The Red Sox: Are under instructions to cut payroll.
The Cardinals: Supposedly don't have any room to add
Just like last offseason, this would seem to create an environment in which the White Sox could fashion themselves as major players. But just like the previous offseasons, there are a bunch of independent developments that make it easy to cast doubt on how much any team really wants to improve via spending.
And then somebody like Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos comes along and makes it easier for those watching to connect those dots.
“Every day you get more information. And we’ve had time to connect with 27 of the clubs — obviously the Astros and (Nationals) being in the World Series, they were tied up — but we had a chance to get a sense of what the other clubs are going to look to do in free agency, who might be available in trades. So, the three weeks have been productive for us, just getting more information. All that shaped some of the decisions that we made. But we know there’s going to be a lot more information to come, and things are certainly going to develop over the next few months, and there will be a chain reaction with certain signings — someone signs in a certain place, maybe another player that’s not available today becomes available at that time. So, it’s going to be pretty fluid, and I think we’re in a good position to start the offseason.”
The generous interpretation is Anthopoulos and the other GMs got their "sense" about free agency based on which teams the players might be making available, which teams have needs, etc. If you think teams are out to screw players at every turn, this sounds like straight-up collusion.
But even if you fall somewhere in the middle -- giving Anthopoulos some benefit of the doubt, while thinking players should have their guards up -- it gives more than a whiff of coordinated effort to constrain what should be an open market, which multiple players said they experienced last year with multiple offers on the same day after a winter's worth of silence.
All of this is why the MLBPA is investigating Anthopolous' comments ...
... and it's why Anthopoulos had to walk it back.
The league was found guilty of three separate instances of collusion in the 1980s and paid out a settlement to end an investigation last decade, so the union would be on "fool me five times" if it let such a statement slide. The quote by itself doesn't prove anything, but it sets the stage for another ugly winter, and this is probably how it's going to continue to be from now until a new collective bargaining agreement is hammered out. If Jerry Reinsdorf's ownership history with regards to labor holds true, the White Sox are not going to be a team that will take advantage of the conditions.
