MLB Players Association head Tony Clark expected to resign, months before CBA expires, per report

Tony Clark, the head of the MLB Players Association, is expected to resign, The Athletic reported Tuesday. The stunning news comes just months before the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire on Dec. 1.

Clark and the MLBPA are under federal investigation by the Eastern District of New York, where prosecutors are looking into whether a licensing company co-founded by the union and the NFL players’ union was being used to financially enrich the union leaders.

Clark’s expected registration comes at a precarious time for MLB, as the upcoming labor negotiations are expected to get ugly. Both sides, in fact, have warned of the likelihood of a labor stoppage, though each blames the other, of course. 

“In a bizarre way, it’s actually a positive,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said last year of a lockout. “There is leverage associated with an offseason lockout and the process of collective bargaining under the NLRA works based on leverage. The great thing about offseason lockouts is the leverage that exists gets applied between the bargaining parties.”

The salary cap — proposed by the owners — is the biggest sticking point, as the league presents the idea of teamwide payroll minimums and maximums under the guise of parity. The union has always held that it will never accept a salary cap. Other issues expected to come up for debate include playoff expansion and an international draft.

It’s unclear who will take over Clark’s role in the players’ union. He was scheduled to begin his spring training tour Tuesday, though his meeting with the Cleveland Guardians has reportedly been canceled already.