PHOENIX — Bruce Meyer staunchly defended free agency and salary arbitration on his first full day as head of the baseball players’ association, dismissing any possibility of agreement on a salary cap in another sign of a likely labor confrontation next winter.
The 64-year-old was promoted to executive director on Wednesday, a day after the forced resignation of Tony Clark, who had led the union since 2013. The sport’s five-year labor contract expires on Dec. 1 and Major League Baseball is expected to propose a salary cap.
“We believe in a meritocracy,” Meyer said Thursday after meeting with Milwaukee Brewers players. “We believe in a system, and players believe in a system, that rewards players for performance.”
MLB players struck for 7 1/2 months in 1994-95 to fight off a cap proposal, a structure used by the NFL, NBA and NHL.
“We don’t believe in a system that’s basically a zero-sum game that says ‘If we pay you, we’ve got to take that out of the pocket of another player,’” Meyer said. “That’s how the other systems work.”
Meyer spent 30 years at the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges before joining the NHL Players Association in 2016 as senior director of collective bargaining, policy and legal. He’s been the MLBPA’s chief negotiator since 2018, though his tenure hasn’t always been smooth. Some players tried to oust him two years ago, when with Clark’s backing he fought off the challenge.
“You’re never going to have, with that many people, everybody agreeing with everything,” Meyer said. “It just doesn’t happen. Other unions I’ve been involved with and other labor situations, you’re never going to get everyone on the same page. But you try and do the most you can. Disagreements are not just expected, they’re actually great.”
Meyer defended baseball’s system of salary arbitration and free agency that has existed since the mid-1970s and has pushed the average salary to the $5 million range.
“Salary arbitration is a crucial right. It’s something that players fought for decades ago,” he said. “It’s important because it’s the first ability a player has to really access something like their free market. It is not a perfect system, but it’s better than the alternative, certainly, that the league has proposed.”
Under the current system, Juan Soto was able to command a record 15-year, $765 million contract from the New York Mets. The high-spending Los Angeles Dodgers won their second straight World Series last season after signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says the teams and fans are concerned about payroll disparity.
“Salary cap doesn’t help players at any level. It doesn’t help the middle-class players,” Meyer said. “It’s not just a math game because salary cap comes with an erosion or complete elimination essentially of guaranteed contracts. ... It eliminates freedom and flexibility. And, of course, over time, once you’re in that system, the history is it always becomes worse and worse for players.”
Clark was asked to resign by the eight-man subcommittee after an investigation by the union’s outside counsel discovered evidence he had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee since 2023, a person familiar with the union’s deliberations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced.
Meyer said the MLBPA will work with the same outside counsel to determine if any changes needed to be made to the organization in the aftermath of Clark’s resignation, including the future of the union’s office in Scottsdale.
“There’s a lot of things that are going to be under review,” Meyer said. “We want to make sure we’re engaged in best practices at all times. We’ll take recommendations from the people who are advising us, who are doing investigations and audits, everything is up for review.”
Meyer expects his interim role will last through the current round of negotiations. Players will then decide how to proceed.
“It’s unfortunate the way things kind of went down but we’re feeling really good, we’re confident in the people we have,” said Giants pitcher Tristan Beck, the team’s alternate player representative. “Bargaining’s the No. 1 thing on the union’s mind this year and I think we’re in as good a spot as we were yesterday.”
Soon after he was elected, Meyer spoke with MLB’s chief negotiator, whom he has clashed with during bargaining.
“Dan Halem gave me a call last night, and he was very nice, very gracious, very classy,” Meyer said of the deputy commissioner. “Despite occasional reports of contrary, we have a good relationship.”
A former All-Star first baseman, Clark had been the first former player to head the union.
“Tony’s relationships are something that I certainly can’t duplicate overnight and maybe not ever,” Meyer said.
Meyer rejected claims he is overly influenced by Scott Boras, baseball’s most visible agent.
“Scott is an agent who represents a lot of players,” Meyer said. “He has no more influence over the running of the union than any other agent.
