MLB lockdown: Owners indicate they’re ready to miss a month of games: sources; Derek Jeter steps down as CEO and owner of Marlins

Giants pitcher Alex Wood in a Feb. 23 game Tweeter: “It’s fascinating that MLB is setting a tough deadline to play a full season on Monday. They’ve locked us out. We had virtually no contact for two months after the lockdown. I haven’t done that yet. one good faith offer to even start real conversations to get a deal done. . Just make a real offer.”
Twins wide receiver Mitch Garver in a February 16 Tweeter: “Why are the general public attacking players on social media about the ABC and especially the MiLB? Conditions among minors have always been bad and we are trying to change that. It was bad for my class and worse for the classes before me”
Wood in a February 12 Tweeter: “If penalties increase under CBT/luxury tax, IT DOESN’T MATTER THE THRESHOLD MY GOD. Doing the billion dollar threshold doesn’t matter. Teams already don’t spend because they use the current penalties as an excuse not to. Imagine if the penalties got worse. SMH.”
Wood in a February 10 Tweeter: “To be clear. Manfred/MLB want tougher penalties under Collective Bargaining Tax (CBT). All CBT does is suppress spending and encourage TANKING. Fans don’t care Don’t you want to see ALL the teams trying to win every year?CBT should be abolished not improved.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge after an MLBPA meeting on February 10: “Great meeting, great unity… A lot more guys showed up than I expected, which is great. It went well and I’m just looking forward to doing this thing.
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole in a Feb. 9 game Tweeter: “I was at our PA meeting in AZ and it was exciting to see such high solidarity. Over 100 players showed up and we are united to protect the integrity of the game.”
Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield in a Feb. 8 episode of Athleticism Baseball show: “We were frustrated for a long time to get to the table and negotiate a deal. I mean, after we were locked out, we went six weeks without speaking to the league. And that can’t just not happen. It shouldn’t happen.
“And then, just last week, we had a meeting with them. And we came up with our proposal. We went back and forth on certain subjects. And we ended the meeting by telling them that we’ll get back to you – and they actually said sarcastically – “in two days.” (After MLB’s last proposal) it took us about a week to get back to them. So they said it would be two days, “unlike the week it took you to get back to us.”
“And so we wait a few days. And then they came out with this idea of a mediator, which in the history of our league hasn’t been very productive. So we thought that instead of bringing in an outside mediator who would probably delay the process another three weeks, we wanted to come back to the table and talk, and get them back with a proposal, as they told us they would like.
“And instead they were just trying to delay this process even longer. And we have no interest in that. We are interested in getting to the table and making a deal.
Twins wide receiver Mitch Garver in a Feb. 8 game Tweeter: “What a great day to meet #AtTheTable. @MLB and the owners are in shambles but the @MLBPA has been ready to negotiate through this thing for months.
Max Scherzer, Mets pitcher, in a pair from February 4 tweet: “We don’t need mediation because what we’re offering to MLB is fair to both parties: we want a system where the threshold and penalties don’t operate as caps, allow young players to achieve more of their market value, make service time manipulation a thing of the past, and eliminate tanking as a winning strategy.
Alex Bois. Giants pitcher, in a Feb. 4 game Tweeter: “It would probably take 2 weeks just for an ‘impartial’ mediator to catch up enough to continue. They would then use an already broken system/CBA as a guideline towards a new deal. It makes no sense to anyone. Players are ready to make a fair/mutually beneficial deal! #AtTheTable”
Mariners pitcher James Paxton in a Feb. 4 game Tweeter: “An important part of collective bargaining is…actually #AtTheTable bargaining”
Yankees pitcher Jameson Taillon in a Feb. 4 game Tweeter: “If the goal is to get players on the field as soon as possible, then why did it take 43 days after lockdown to even hear from MLB? It didn’t seem like a priority then! Why didn’t we get a counteroffer this week?It’s all extremely tired antics/optics.
Mets pitcher Max Scherzer in a Feb. 3 interview with Athleticism: “The company will manage on its own. Right now, seeing how the business of the game has been going, we as players recognize what we’re trying to do here to improve the game itself. What must happen will happen. But we are ready to leave whenever we reach an agreement.
Garver in a trio of February 3 tweet: “I think it’s no secret that the state of baseball is at a crossroads. One side did everything it could to negotiate the lockout, and the other refused to do the same. We players negotiated in good faith the same way we did in 2020 during the shortened season.
“The ploy the league used to hire a federal mediator to work during the lockout is a tactic to show they are negotiating in good faith. We players want to get to the bargaining table as soon as possible to prepare for the 2022 season.
“The only thing holding us back is that the league is dragging its feet in negotiations that will lead to lost games in 2022. I feel bad for the fans especially because I know all the players want to be at ST in a few weeks, so when we’re ready to figure it out, the players will be ready.
Wood in a February 3 Tweeter: “How can MLB ask that there be a federal government mediator to help with negotiations when they literally haven’t even negotiated so far? Ask a friend.
White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito in a late January interview with Athleticism: “It’s become relatively clear that the other side is happy with the way it is, while we’re really trying to improve the product as a whole,” Giolito said. “A big part of that is promoting a more competitive landscape. We want it so that – I feel bad, but at the same time, it’s what it is – Pittsburgh Pirates fans, Orioles fans Baltimore can be excited about their team year after year. They want to buy tickets and go see the best possible product on the field. Unfortunately, in some cases, that’s just not the case right now. And that’s is a huge, huge part of what we’re trying to improve.