Major League Baseball sent a 34-page memo on October 1 to owners and high-ranking officials to prepare them for team and player relations after the owners lock out the players upon the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement on December 2. Evan Drellich of the Athletic broke down what was in that memo.
In the memo, Dan Halem, second-in-command to commissioner Rob Manfred, did state that their “commitment has been and remains to exhaust every realistic option to achieve our goal of reaching an agreement with the Players Association”. This memo was created because, “clubs need to be prepared for the possibility that an agreement will not be reached by then and the clubs are left with no realistic alternative but to implement a lockout of major league players”.
It should be noted that the expiration of the CBA does not automatically trigger a lockout, and both the clubs and the players could continue to operate under the previous CBA until a resolution is found before December 2. Locking out the players is a negotiation tactic that gives the owners leverage similar to how a strike could give the players leverage.
Communication With Players
Once the owners lock out the players, they will not be able to communicate with any member of the MLBPA until the lockout ends. They will not even be able to exchange holiday cards during the lockout. The memo also lays out proper etiquette for team staff who want to attend players’ weddings, stating they are able to attend but cannot “talk shop”. Any team official who runs into a player in public is to be cordial with minimal interactions. Players are also not allowed to communicate with team medical staff. Videos and images of players will be scrubbed from MLB websites, but any team will still be able to sell merchandise with player names or likenesses on them as that comes from other licensing agreements.
On Winter Ball
Major League Baseball confirmed in the memo that they will not prevent players from playing in other leagues while they lock them out during the negotiations. This not only includes the Latin American winter ball leagues, but other international leagues including the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan or the Australian Baseball League.
On Player Injuries
Teams were instructed to document any interactions between players and the team’s medical staff/trainers to ensure all injuries from the season and from before the lockout are documented. This is to ensure that players do not try to file for workers’ compensation for injuries that occurred during the lockout.
On the Rule 5 Draft
When the owners locked out the players following the 2021 season, the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place during the winter meetings, was canceled. At this time, MLB is advising that the draft will take place, but this will be officially decided as part of the bargaining process. Any player who is rule five eligible will need to be added to the 40-man roster before the lockout begins, meaning teams will have to make this decision without knowing if there definitively will be a Rule 5 Draft. They will also not be able to communicate with any player added to protect them from the draft. Mets eligible prospects include Jefferson Rojas, Jacob Reimer, Jack Wenninger, Gary Gill Hill, Zach Franklin, Ryan Clifford, Marco Vargas and Chris Suero.
On Minor League Free Agency
Teams will still be able to negotiate and sign minor league free agents during the lockout, but when they discuss players with their agents, they may not discuss any of their major league clients. Through the lockout, there are no limitations on communications between teams and players not on the 40-man roster or free agents negotiating a minor league free agent deal.
