On Friday I gave my thoughts on potential collusion claims against MLB owners. Bud Selig has gone on record saying that some clubs lost money in 2009 which, coupled with a seven percent drop in attendance, should give owners reason to scale back this offseason. I historically defend the owners over the players when it comes to collusion since I believe MLBPA tends to believe big salaries are a birthright regardless of the economic health of the game. I realize what happened in the eighties, but the sport is in a far differen place today.

I decided to get the other side of the story and give the readers a chance to hear the player’s side. When reaching out to an agent, who has clients in both leagues, I was told not to rush to judgment on the situation. He shared a story about one his clients and it gave me reason to think that some form of collusion does happen in the sport.

A few years ago he represented an individual with just over a season of service time. After a successful year in the big leagues he struggled the following spring and was subsequently released. He received three offers each for the exact same amount. It was told to him that was the going rate for his client’s services. There was absolutely no room for negotiation with any of the teams.

Obviously a player released at the end of spring has no leverage so he had to take the offer, but it does seem ironic that each team provided “carbon copy” offers to the player. That gets me to thinking about industry reports predicting Matt Holliday “will get half” of what Mark Teixeira received last winter. Is that Holliday’s market worth or the commissioner’s office sending a message? We will never know, but some believe the owners clearly rig the market to keep salaries down.

The unfortunate fact is that big free agents will get their payday. It might not be what they want, but it’s going to be more money than they ever dreamed. It will be the fringe players and non tenders that will fight for the bottom barrel scraps. Remember, this type of scenario also plays into the hands of large market teams like the Yankees. If 29 teams play by commissioner Selig’s market rules and, at the last minute, Hal Steinbrenner desires Matt Holliday you know he will land him. The Yankees historically don’t pay attention to restrictions and do what is right for their baseball team. In effect alleged collusion could be widening the divide between the “have’s” and “have not’s”. I still think the players need to realize the difficult economic times in this country, but regardless the issue of collusion is far from black and white.

Tags: Bud Selig, Collusion in MLB, Hal Steinbrenner, Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, MLBPA, New York Yankees