The threats keep escalating.
Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright told InsideSTL.com that he’s worried the growing strife between players and management will lead to something more dramatic than a strike.
“Unless something changes, there’s going to be a strike, 100 percent. I’m just worried people are going to walk out midseason,” Wainwright told the website.
The anger has simmered all offseason as dozens of free agents remain unsigned as ownership seemingly tries to cut back on salaries even as profits grow. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado have been the faces of the discontent that exists, but many others remain unsigned, as well, with spring training now starting.
“Thirty owners need to be answering that because you have one of the best players in the game that needs a job and no one is signing him,” Wainwright said. “You’ve got 30 owners who have a sabermetric box that will sign players when they were in that box. They don’t take any intangibles or anything else into play and that’s a sad thing.
“Part of it is smart from their side of it, but you have to realize it’s about winning. So, if Bryce Harper wants 10 years and he’s 26 years old .. He’s going to be a dynamic player. The same can be said about Manny Machado. These guys are superstar players.”
On the same day as Wainwright’s comments, new Cubs reliever Brad Brach explained his free-agent process and the new groupthink that ownership around the sport has embraced. Brach signed a one-year, $3 million deal with Chicago this offseason.
“It was stressful and it kinda dragged on forever,” Brach told reporters on Friday morning. “You hear about interest in the first week and then you don’t get offers until late December, January and you’re just kinda wondering what’s going on. Teams say they like you, but they’re not making you any offers. Then you finally get offers and six or seven teams are giving you the same offer.
“It’s just a weird process and nobody really knows what’s going on right now. Obviously I would’ve liked the experience to have been a little better. I’m just glad to be here now and glad it’s over with for at least this year and hope to pitch well enough to be here again next year.”
The CBA between the union and the league does not expire till 2021, so for now threats are all the players have to wield.