\u201cI obviously wasn\u2019t a player,\u201d Meyer, a lawyer, said during that appearance. \u201cAll due respect to anybody who played the game, and in terms of what guys choose to do in their post-careers, I\u2019m not going to question that. I will say, there are players who are being paid by MLB and who are going with Rob to the locker rooms and trying to sell players on a system that this union has historically thought was bad for players, and that they themselves didn\u2019t have to live under when they played.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manfred has been touring clubhouses this season<\/a>, suggesting players have lost billions<\/a> over the years because they have been unwilling to change the game\u2019s economics.. At times, he has been accompanied by CAP members.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayers know when they see those guys in the locker room, with Rob pitching a system that the league wants \u2014 players know those guys are getting paid,\u201d Meyer continued on Foul Territory. \u201cIt may be great players. It may be former teammates, it may be guys they respect. But I think players take it for what it is. Players understand what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n When approached by The Athletic at baseball\u2019s All-Star Game in Atlanta last week, Manfred countered that, \u201cThey\u2019re not out there carrying my water on what I think on any topic, forget labor.\u201d<\/p>\n CAP participant Dexter Fowler said on Foul Territory recently that players in the program just want to grow the game. Fowler and two other CAP members declined interview requests for this story. Efforts by The Athletic to reach a fourth CAP participant were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n The group did not come out of the blue. When baseball\u2019s lockout ended in 2022, Manfred publicly committed to doing more to build relationships with his workforce, an area he admitted<\/a> he had fallen short. CAP is part of that effort.<\/p>\n Before the All-Star Game, Rob Manfred attended the ceremonial groundbreaking for John Fisher\u2019s planned ballpark for the Oakland A\u2019s in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cThey do a wide variety of things for us,\u201d Manfred said before the All-Star Game. \u201cThey\u2019re here, provide a presence at special events. They have worked with us on our international (efforts). They have been a source of content creation. They\u2019ve helped me in terms of on-field issues. They\u2019ve helped us in terms of dialogue with players.\u201d<\/p>\n The commissioner also began to meet annually with virtually every team as part of his reconciliatory effort. But those visits have become controversial because the MLBPA believes Manfred is using those settings \u2014 and the CAP players who are sometimes in tow \u2014 to launder his bargaining positions. At least one CAP player, Sabathia, holds an additional role with the commissioner\u2019s office beyond his position as an ambassador.<\/p>\n \u201cI will tell you, 100 percent, in most player meetings, I do all the talking,\u201d Manfred said. \u201c(Ambassadors) may be with me. They may listen afterwards. \u2026 I don\u2019t say this, but, you know, some players would rather not ask a question of me, OK? Whatever\u2019s said in there comes from me. Afterwards, if they want to talk, if they have a question that they want to ask (the ambassadors), they ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n Manfred has said that his message to players is not centered on a particular solution, a cap or otherwise. Much of his message, as he has publicly described it, however, is suggestive of a cap.<\/p>\n \u201cI never use the word salary within one of cap,\u201d he said last week.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Manfred believes he has heard the criticism and done what he promised: built a bridge to the current players. He thinks the union now does not want to reap what it sowed.<\/p>\n CAP carries a more star-studded roster than the union\u2019s own cadre of former players, issuing what appears almost a quiet challenge to the MLBPA to keep up. Besides Howard, Rollins and Sabathia, CAP includes Dellin Betances, Michael Bourn, Prince Fielder, Dexter Fowler, Jeremy Guthrie, LaTroy Hawkins, Adam Jones, Andruw Jones, Jason Kendall, Kenny Lofton, Jed Lowrie, Gary Sheffield, Denard Span, Nick Swisher, Justin Upton, Shane Victorino and Chris Young (the outfielder).<\/p>\n The public dust-up over CAP began at the start of July when two former players had a tense discussion on TV. Former big leaguer A.J. Pierzynski, one of the hosts of Foul Territory, asked pointed questions of Fowler during a long back-and-forth<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMy question as a former player: What side are you on?\u201d Pierzynski asked at one point. \u201cBecause you work for the commissioner, and then so Rob\u2019s giving you his side, but then Tony and the union has a different side.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re on baseball\u2019s side,\u201d Fowler replied twice.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that, but there\u2019s two sides to it,\u201d Pierzynski said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think you have to pick a side,\u201d Fowler said.<\/p>\n A short while later, Pierzynski asked Fowler why he didn\u2019t work for the union instead.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cUs going to talk to players is working with the union, right? \u2026 We\u2019re forming basically our own opinions on what is going on, and giving honest feedback to Rob about the player side, even the management side.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221756409-scaled.jpg\")
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