The Chicago White Sox are looking to become a great baseball team. They were that in 2020 and 2021 but they weren’t able to get out of the postseason’s first round. Being a 90+ win team is fun and all but we all want more as fans.
In order for the Whtie Sox to reach new heights, they need a few more improvements to their MLB roster. They need to spend some money in free agency following a flawless rebuild that saw many great prospects come up through the system via trades, international free agency, and the draft.
Unfortunately, the utter disgrace that is commissioner Rob Manfred is really holding them back. Major League Baseball has locked out its players in early December to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.
This means that the players have no access to coaches, facilities, doctors, or anyone employed by the team to help them. This is really important to a lot of players for rehab purposes and for general training purposes. The MLB has locked them all out and we are now in the third month of it.
It also means that teams can’t sign free agents to help move their club forward. There are so many great free agents available right now that weren’t able to find new teams before the lockout began. The White Sox are one of the teams that could really use some access to these guys. The offseason, for the most part, has been ruined for Sox fans by Manfred.
Rob Manfred is doing everything he can to keep the Chicago White Sox from playing.
It is sad that the two sides can’t even find enough peace to allow the business to continue rolling while they negotiate. The MLB tried to hire a federal mediator to help get the negotiations going but the MLBPA denied that request. The whole thing is a big mess.
Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/KBssy2e66U
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) February 4, 2022
“It is time to get assistance.”
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 4, 2022
Major League Baseball responded today to the MLBPA rejecting the intervention of a federal mediator. The entire statement, via a league spokesman: pic.twitter.com/3jGBLPGudX
We know that the owners are greedy and will do anything to save a penny. There are plenty of young players in the MLB that don’t make a lot of money and really need the season to be played so it will be interesting to see what happens.
Most players aren’t the super-elite rich ones like Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper, or Manny Machado. It isn’t really fun to see the owners lock out the players and then use these weird tactics to try and get what they want. We can only hope to see both sides get what is fair and nothing else.
The worst part about it is that it is stopping the Chicago White Sox from doing business. Fans just want to see their team and Rob Manfred is looking like he is going to keep that from happening, at least to start. He should be ashamed of himself for how he has run this league.