Why Rays owner cast the only vote against new CBA

Hours before the Dec. 2 deadline, Major League Baseball owners and the Players Association (MLBPA) reached an agreement on a new five-year collective bargaining agreement that’s effective through the 2021 season and extends the league’s streak of labor peace to 26 years.

All that remained Wednesday was the vote to ratify the CBA, which MLB owners did overwhelmingly. It’s worth noting though that the vote wasn’t unanimous. The official tally was 29-1, with the Associated Press reporting the lone hold out as Tampa Bay Rays managing general partner Stuart Sternberg.

That will neither be confirmed nor denied by MLB and the MLBPA since their respective policies call for keeping the voting breakdown private. It was essentially confirmed by Sternberg, however, as he released the following statement:

I am thankful for the hard work, leadership, and spirit of compromise that were essential to this agreement coming together. Twice a decade, the bargaining process provides an opportunity to address the extraordinary and widening competitive gap that exists on-field between higher and lower revenue clubs. I feel that opportunity was missed here.”

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg was the lone vote against the new CBA. (AP)

 

Though Sternberg doesn’t go in to detail, many agreed the changes to MLB’s luxury tax floor and revenue sharing model didn’t do enough to help smaller market teams. There were also adjustments made to free agent compensation, international signing systems and the draft, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times says the Rays wanted more.

The Rays wanted more, specifically significant changes to the draft system that would give them more and/or higher picks with an order determined by more than win-loss record.

The Rays rely heavily on the draft because they’re not built to spend money — either locking up their own players or adding free agents — so it’s understandable they would hope for advantages in that regard. It’s arguable whether or not they have a point, but several outlets have pointed at Tampa Bay drafting behind the Boston Red Sox in six of the last eight drafts as a driving force behind the Rays reasoning.

Given the Red Sox financial situation, they’ll always be positioned to reload rather than rebuild. That their down years have netted higher draft picks is a cherry on top of their built-in advantage and in some instances a dagger to teams like the Rays.

The Rays have routinely received competitive balance picks, including the top one (No. 31 overall) in 2017. Those are aimed at closing the gap between baseball’s large and small markets, but until the Rays come into new money (which would possibly require a new stadium) it’s not going to be enough to help them attain and sustain success.