FORT MYERS, Fla. — Many players have expressed their opinions on the current state of free agency in Major League Baseball, but veteran Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright’s comments especially have raised eyebrows.
“Unless something changes, there's going to be a strike, 100 percent,” Wainwright told Tim McKernan of InsideSTL.com. “I’m just worried people are going to walk out midseason.”
Red Sox owner John Henry spoke to the media Monday at JetBlue Park, and when I informed him of Wainwright’s comments, he was befuddled.
“Midseason, this year?” Henry asked. “That’s crazy.”
“A lot has been said about the market, the free-agent market. But it’s a free market,” he continued. “A free market doesn’t always do what you want it to do.”
Henry stressed the need for the players union to engage with the owners’ negotiating committee to work on solutions to these kinds of issues.
“If the players are unhappy with this, then they should engage," Henry said. “Our commissioner was a labor lawyer for a couple of decades. It’s important for the union to engage first-hand on what they would like to change. This has been a series of negotiations that have led to the kind of market that we have today.”
Boston Red Sox
Much of the free-agency controversy stems from stars Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Craig Kimbrel remaining on the market. It also was a topic a year ago when Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez went unsigned until late February.
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