In the spirit of fair play some new facts emerged since news broke this morning that Mets players were being charged $1,000 to participate in offseason workouts at Port St. Lucie.
Most of the legwork on this was conducted by Mike Vorkunov and it does clear up some issues.
First of all, no other MLB teams have offseason workouts in January where players have to pay out of pocket. In fact, the MLB Players Association quickly decided to investigate this once they learned about it, and spokesperson Greg Bouris confirmed they are looking into this.
Vorkunov says the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for mini-camps in January but for no more than seven days and only to players on the 40 man roster who are not yet arbitration eligible.
“The mini-camp, the CBA specifies, is voluntary and players have to be invited by a formal process and receive paid accommodation,” he writes. “These workouts, however, do not seem to fit under these parameters.”
A Mets spokesperson confirmed that each player is paying $1,000 to participate. They also said that Mike Barwis is a consultant for the organization and an independent contractor who is renting the facility. The fees collected from the players go to him, not the Mets.
This afternoon, we spoke to the father of one of the Mets minor leaguers and this is what he told us:
“It’s a good deal, they pay for his food, supplements, a hotel room, and it is a good
value for the camp.”
“He trains with the bigger named players and prospects, and they all train together and learn from each other.”
“Typically a trainer would cost us $300 to $1,000 dollars a month, and private even more. I believe we are getting bang for our buck.”
I hope this adds a little more clarity to the situation. At MMO we do strive to tell the complete story. We always update our reports as new and relevant information is received.
Original Post 1:00 PM
We had a big discussion about this a year ago, when we heard that Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada and a few others were footing the bill to fly to Michigan and stay there for three weeks to participate in a voluntary offseason training regimen run by Strength and Conditioning Consultant Mike Barwis.
Now that the training facility has been relocated to the team’s complex in Port St. Lucie, it’s being reported by Florida reporter Jon Santucci that the players are still being charged to participate.
Adam Rubin elaborated on Twitter:
According to Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports, during the Winter Meetings he spoke with a baseball source who voiced some non-specific skepticism about these workouts and the Mets’ hiring of Barwis.
“I am going to assume that Rubin’s view — that Mets players are, more or less, being compelled to attend these things, at their own expense, no less— is what they were talking about.”
“If this is true — and given that Barwis himself is telling people that minor leaguers are paying him, there’s a good chance it is — it’s simply awful.”
Is Calcaterra right? Is this awful? Or is this fair game for the Mets to operate these offseason workouts this way? Are other teams doing this?
Charging your players to attend voluntary workouts at team complex, Fair or Foul?
