Sources: Frustrated players want MLBPA exec out
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
Player leaders expressed frustration at Major League Baseball Players Association executives during a videoconference call Monday night, the culmination of a week in which players advocated for the ouster of the union’s chief labor negotiator, sources told ESPN.
On a call with dozens of player representatives from the major and minor league units of the union that lasted nearly three hours, a majority of players in an informal vote told MLBPA executive director Tony Clark they wanted to replace deputy executive director Bruce Meyer with Harry Marino, the lawyer who spearheaded the unionization efforts of minor league players, sources said.
Clark, who has the ability to hire and fire staff members, declined to levy a judgment on Meyer’s future during the call, according to sources.
Clark, Meyer and Marino declined comment when reached by ESPN.
Clark did follow up with all players Tuesday, noting in a memo obtained by ESPN that the call was done to “ensure that there is complete transparency” regarding player concerns and noting that in the coming days, the union and player leadership will reconvene to continue to “work through how best to move our organization and Player fraternity forward.”
The move by players came amid an offseason that has seen a billion-dollar decrease in spending by major league teams and the extended free agency of World Series standout Jordan Montgomery and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, the latter of whom agreed to a two-year, $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Over the previous 24 hours, 21 major league player representatives, after consulting with the rank and file, agreed on a text chain, sources said, to back the appointment of Marino, who joined the MLBPA in September 2022 when it formed a minor league unit recognized by MLB. Marino, who was hired as an assistant general counsel at the union, left in July 2023, less than three months after negotiating the first collective bargaining agreement for minor league players, who on the call were overwhelming in their support of him and who hold 34 of the 72 voting positions on the union’s executive board.
Marino, 33, had generated support among players to take over the union’s labor unit — which he pledged to expand with veteran lawyers — in recent weeks. Players, sources said, lined up behind Marino, also calling for an audit of the MLBPA’s spending. Multiple high-powered agents backed Marino’s candidacy, sources said, with the perception that Meyer, 62, was ideologically aligned with agent Scott Boras.
On the call, players told ESPN, Meyer vociferously denied that being the case and advocated for his work since being hired in 2018. The discussion about Meyer’s future, players on the call said, was animated and at times argumentative — and the lack of a resolution frustrated some who had backed Marino. Late in the call, sources said, players requested that Marino be looped in to make his case as deputy executive director. Clark did not accede to the request, sources said.
The potential appointment of Marino was not supported by all the players on the call, sources said. Some questioned his age and installing someone with a relative lack of experience in a high-ranking position to negotiate with a veteran labor team at MLB. The case against Marino had circulated among a small group of player leaders leading up to the call, which Clark called for about two hours before it took place, sources said.
Meyer oversaw the stalled return-to-play negotiations during the height of the pandemic in 2020, prompting commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a 60-game season. Meyer routinely clashed with the league during its 99-day lockout of the players after the expiration of the 2016 CBA. Against the advice of the eight-player executive council that serves as the highest-ranking members of the union, the rank and file voted to agree to a deal in March 2022 that included an increase in luxury tax thresholds and minimum salaries, added a draft lottery and other anti-tanking measures, implemented a $50 million pre-arbitration bonus pool, expanded the playoffs from 10 to 12 teams and gave MLB the right to change on-field rules.
After lavishing a record $3.9 billion on free agents in the winter of 2022-23, MLB teams pulled back this offseason as questions about the future of local television rights roiled the industry. More than one-third of the $2.9 billion in free agent spending this winter went to two players: a record $700 million for Shohei Ohtani — $680 million of which is deferred for a decade — and $325 million for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Two historical financial behemoths, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, committed less than $50 million to free agents. Eight teams — the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians and Colorado Rockies — guaranteed less than $15 million.
Disillusionment among players, sources said, burbled in recent days after the Giants released veteran infielder J.D. Davis, who had beaten the team in an arbitration hearing for a $6.9 million salary. Because salaries won in arbitration cases are not guaranteed — a long-standing rule that was not changed in the most recent labor negotiations — the Giants were required to pay Davis only one-sixth of his salary ($1.15 million). He signed a one-year deal with Oakland for an additional $2.5 million.
The cases of standout left-handed starting pitchers Snell and Montgomery as well as the below-expected salaries of other veteran free agents further irritated players, they said, and prompted disillusionment.
“Guys are just trying to figure out what we’re going to do with the next CBA,” Detroit Tigers pitcher and MLBPA executive board member Jack Flaherty told reporters Tuesday. “How are we going to make improvements?
“Things are just not working out (with free agency) as well as they had the first two years. Guys are trying to figure out how to get ready for the next one.”
The MLBPA had hired Meyer, who had served as a lawyer for the other three major men’s professional sports unions, as its senior director of collective bargaining in September 2018, following a slowly developing free agent market during the 2017-18 offseason. The five-year labor deal struck between the league and the union in November 2016 was widely seen as a win for MLB, pressuring Clark to create the position.
The union promoted Meyer to deputy executive director in July 2022, strengthening his position as second-in-command to Clark, the All-Star first baseman who became the first former major league player to lead the union. Clark, 51, joined the MLBPA in 2010 and in 2013 was voted as the union’s sixth executive director after the death of Michael Weiner. The MLBPA gave Clark a five-year contract extension in November 2022.
Marino, a former minor league player in the Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations, grew to prominence as the executive director of Advocates for Minor Leagues, the group that leveraged the collective force of minor league players to secure improvements in housing before coalescing into a union. In the minor league collective bargaining agreement — negotiated by a group that included Marino and Meyer — players at all domestic levels received pay increases of at least $15,000 a year and codified an array of other benefits not previously offered by teams.
The deal came in the wake of MLB’s $185 million payout to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by minor league players who alleged the league had committed minimum wage violations.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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