TAMPA — Giancarlo Stanton didn’t have much to say Tuesday with reports swirling that Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, planned to abruptly announce his resignation.
“Not ideal timing,” the Yankees slugger said, but he didn’t have much more info on the situation.
A short time later, more light was shed, as it was reported that an internal investigation revealed Clark, a former Yankee, had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, an MLBPA employee since 2023. The MLBPA then made Clark’s departure official.
Clark’s resignation also comes amid a federal investigation by the Eastern District of New York for his handling of union finances, which prompted the aforementioned internal review, as well as the looming expiration of baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1. There is fear across the sport that the latter will initiate a work stoppage that could threaten part, if not all, of the 2027 season with players ready to oppose owners’ latest attempt to implement a salary cap.
“It’s been talked about a lot, whether it’s in the media or from [commissioner] Rob [Manfred] or other people,” Austin Wells, who will be handling union player rep responsibilities for the Yankees, said Wednesday morning. “I think that the talk about a possible lockout, we don’t want that. We hope that we can get a deal done and have a normal season next year, but we’re prepared to do what we have to.”
Wells added that Clark’s ouster came as a “a little bit of a surprise,” but he believes the MLBPA is “moving in a good direction” following a Tuesday evening conference call between player reps for all 30 teams and the players’ executive subcommittee, an eight-man leadership group that includes Tarik Skubal, Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, Jake Cronenworth, Paul Skenes, Brent Suter, Pete Fairbanks and Cedric Mullins.
“We’re just as strong as we were Friday vs. today,” Wells said, noting that deputy executive director Bruce Meyer led the bargaining for the players during the 2021-2022 lockout. “I think we have a lot of confidence in our executive subcommittee, who did a great job handling all this.”
Meyer is a candidate to take over for Clark, but the executive subcommittee didn’t name a successor during Tuesday’s call. The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal reported that union general counsel Matt Nussbaum and former executive director Don Fehr are also candidates. Other possibilities include Daniel Murphy and Andrew Miller, who were players like Clark.
Miller also played for the Yankees.
Wells wasn’t sure when the next call with the subcommittee would be, though the expectation was that one would take place Wednesday. Among other details, Wells said it will be discussed whether or not that person should have an interim label.
Wells spoke after Yankees players held their own meeting to discuss the implications of Clark’s exit on Wednesday morning. He took questions from teammates and shared details from the previous night’s call.
As for why he wanted the job of player rep after serving as a Yankees alternate the past two seasons, Wells called it an “exciting opportunity.”
“Especially this year, coming into probably the biggest negotiation that we’re going to have, at least in my short career,” he continued. “So I’m looking forward to that opportunity and just being able to help represent our team.”
While Wells, yet to reach arbitration, is eager to carry out his new duties, there is no ignoring that baseball’s brewing labor battle is looming over the game as teams prepare for another season. That was true before Clark’s resignation — so much so that Cody Bellinger’s new deal with the Yankees ties his opt outs to a work stoppage — which only put a brighter spotlight on the trouble that could be coming.
“All I can tell you is, I want to play baseball, and I hope that the two sides do come together in the end because I think we’re at an awesome time in our game,” Aaron Boone said Tuesday. “I think the popularity of it is strong. Hopefully, both sides realize that and there’s a middle ground that everyone can come to, to where everyone’s benefiting, because we don’t want to see this game go away for an extended period.”
