MLB owners appear to once again be taking a stand this offseason against handing out massive long-term contracts to star free agents, and one veteran player is convinced the practice is going to eventually result in a work stoppage.
Longtime St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainright said Friday that he is “100 percent” certain there is going to be a strike if MLB owners don’t show more of a willingness to pay players. The 37-year-old said he’s concerned it could happen in the middle of a season.
#STLCards pitcher Adam Wainwright on @TMASTL: “Unless something changes, there’s going to be a strike. 100%. I’m just worried people are going to walk-out mid-season.” pic.twitter.com/M8WeRVcASe
— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) February 15, 2019
Wainwright went on to criticize owners for placing too much emphasis on analytics and placing everything in a “sabermetric box” without taking intangibles into consideration.
Adam Wainwright said today on @TMASTL that he expects there to be a strike “100%.”
The context of the conversation comes from a discussion on how Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are still without teams.
You can see Wainwright’s reasoning in the video below. pic.twitter.com/GXsmx4cXk1
— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) February 15, 2019
The biggest issue, of course, is whether or not team owners are working together to keep the price of free agents down. That would be collusion, which is illegal. However, there’s a good chance officials have simply realized there’s no need to be paying a player like Albert Pujols $28 million when he’s 39 and batting .245.
Wainwright is not the only veteran player who has gone off about free agency recently, but it doesn’t seem like a change is coming anytime soon. In all likelihood, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are going to get less money than they were seeking. While that could be the result of collusion, it could also be that teams are getting wiser.
