While the MLB lockout has frozen free agency, trades and an array of other business across the sport, that does not extend to Minor Leaguers.
Players who weren’t on a 40-man roster are permitted to sign Minor League contracts and negotiate with teams. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been impacted in the form of Matt Davidson returning to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the New York Mets signing Jesus Vargas.
Minor Leaguers not being part of the MLB Players Association has long been a contentious matter as it has afforded the league plenty of flexibility in their pay and benefits, which clubs have exploited.
That could change, as a lawsuit has been filed against MLB (commissioner Rob Manfred named as defendant) over the league’s antitrust exemption, according to Maury Brown of Forbes:
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court claims MLB’s takeover and contraction is a “naked, horizontal agreement to cement MLB’s dominance over all professional baseball.” The lawsuit adds, “There is no plausible procompetitive justification for this anticompetitive agreement.”
The basis of the lawsuit brought forth by the Weil, Gotshal & Manges firm on behalf of plaintiffs Staten Island Yankees, Tri-City Valley Cats, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and Norwich Sea Unicorns stems from MLB taking control of Minor League teams and it resulting in contraction.
This past February, MLB announced Major all 120 Minor League teams extended an invitation to become Professional Development League (PDL) license holders accepted. MLB touted the change as ushering in better control of facilities, ensuring upgrades and increase in player salaries, and aligning teams with affiliates that are geographically closer, among other benefits.
Last month, MLB announced a new policy that is expected to provide more than 90% of assigned Minor League players across every level with furnished housing accommodations at each Major League club’s expense, beginning with the 2022 season.
What is MLB antitrust exemption?
MLB’s antitrust exemption hails from a 1922 Supreme Court ruling that determined the league’s activity did not constitute “interstate commerce” and therefore is exempt from the Sherman Act, which prevents businesses from conspiring with one another in an effort to thwart competition.
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