Salaries Remain in Check

There is a chill in the air from another winter of discontent in professional baseball as pitchers and catchers prepare to report to spring training later this week.

Commissioner Bud Selig’s plan to eliminate two major league teams was stalled by politicians and ultimately quashed by the courts, and owners and players still don’t have a new labor agreement.

So why the undercurrent of feeling that Selig & Co. accomplished most of what they wanted?

Perhaps because of the latest free-agent freeze out.

There were some big contracts this off-season, but it appears that the contraction movement, while failing in the courts, succeeded in holding salaries relatively in check.

Certainly something did. And player agents have their own ‘C-word’ theory.

Collusion.

“Of course there was collusion,” agent Alan Meersand said. “All the clubs are working together. There may or may not have been a directive from [the commissioner’s office], but there doesn’t have to be a directive to withhold making offers when you announce you’re going to eliminate teams.

“The moment the great leader of major league baseball, our fearless commissioner, tells the world that major league baseball is going to eliminate two teams, the other 28 general managers are frozen until they know what’s going to happen with those players. Just look at what happened in the market. It was absolutely depressed. There was no question about it, and everybody knows why.”

Well, maybe not everybody. While acknowledging the possibility of a dispersal draft might have been a factor, baseball executives attribute the change to clubs acting responsibly after years of reckless spending produced bloated payrolls and hundreds of millions in guaranteed contracts.

“It’s a market correction,” said Dan O’Dowd, general manager of the Colorado Rockies. “A lot of clubs like us, clubs that spent money in the past, are now facing the reality of [their actions]. All of our decisions this winter have been reality-based decisions. My compatriots in the game are doing the same exact thing. I think it’s going to be this way from year in and year out now.

“It’s a star-driven system. It was the way it was created; that’s the way the union wants it. The price you pay, when you have that type of system, is that there are going to be a lot of guys left at the very end who don’t have anything.”

Agents cite an inordinate number of offers considered below market value and still-unsigned free agents as proof that contraction was a form of collusion, whether planned or a welcomed byproduct for owners.

The postponed contraction process has become an issue in ongoing talks for a new collective bargaining agreement, and the Major League Baseball Players Assn. has filed a grievance to officially address the situation.

Although general managers prepared for a dispersal draft, they dispute that the process hindered their pursuit of free agents. Had a draft occurred, several said it would have only provided a Band-Aid for most clubs’ deficiencies--not a cure-all.

But even free agents considered among the game’s elite players often found that their price wasn’t right; many accepted less than their initial contract requests.

Barry Bonds received a five-year, $90-million contract to remain with the San Francisco Giants after establishing a major league single-season home run record and being selected the National League’s most valuable player for the fourth time. The perennial All-Star had been expected to receive a deal that averaged more than $20 million a year.

Juan Gonzalez returned to the Texas Rangers for a two-year, $24-million contract. Despite concerns about his back, the All-Star outfielder, who won two American League MVP awards in his first stint with the Rangers, probably would have received offers between $15 million to $20 million annually in previous off-seasons.

The pitching market took a hit too.

Chan Ho Park, considered the top available starter, left the Dodgers for the Texas Rangers, signing a five-year deal that could be worth as much as $71 million. But others, based on standards for the position, settled for surprisingly low contracts.

For example, former Dodger James Baldwin, who sought a three-year contract for more than $20 million, took a one-year, $1.25-million deal with the Seattle Mariners.

“Last year, if you look at the starting pitchers, you saw good pitchers like [Kevin] Appier and [Denny] Neagle getting $10 million, $11 million,” agent Eric Goldschmidt said. “This year, you saw good pitchers like Aaron Sele getting $7 million or $8 million. What that tells me is that clubs are either managing their money better, or there are some other factors that came into play.”

Then again, this class of free agents was not considered one of the best. Agents acknowledge that fewer marquee players were available than in recent seasons.

“The suggestion of collusion is a convenient excuse for a confused marketplace,” agent Jeff Moorad said. “I will say that I think teams were better informed about offers being made. I sensed some level of shared information, more so than in the past, between the organizations, but I can’t put my finger on anything specific. It’s far too easy to fall back on the claim of collusion.”