Why Tony Clark Situation is Bad News for MLB before Potential Lockout

With a potential lockout looming at the end of the 2026 season, some news broke on Tuesday morning. Ken Rosenthal, Evan Drellich and Andy McCullough of The Athletic reported that MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark is expected to resign after concerns from players amid a federal investigation.

Not much is known at the present moment, but soon, the MLBPA will have to look for a new person to fill Clark's role. They'll have to do it quickly too, as the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in December.

Ultimately, this is very bad news for Major League Baseball and the Players' Association.

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Bad news for MLBPA

Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark, left, and New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, center, arrive for negotiation. Usp Mlb Lockout S Bbo Usa Fl | Greg Lovett / USA TODAY NETWORK

The timing of this could not be any worse. Clark has been the head of the Players' association for 13 years and fought hard for the players to get a fair deal prior to the 2022 season. They ultimately got a deal done to end that lockout, but it appears that another one is on the way.

And to make matters worse, Clark is in some trouble, and that creates a lot of extra stress for the Players' Association as they try to fight for a fair deal. This time around, Rob Manfred and the owners will be pushing hard for a salary cap, which baseball has never had, and the players need to make sure they have somebody representing them well that can help them fight against the owners' push for a salary cap.

A work stoppage feels all but inevitable, and if there is going to be a war over whether or not the league will introduce a salary cap, then a lot of games could be lost in 2027, even creating a risk of the season potentially not happening at all.

But this is the last thing the Players' Association needed, with their leader now tangled up in an investigation, and it only makes things worse as the potential lockout looms in 2027.

The most logical candidate to take over for Clark is Bruce Meyer, so they could at least resolve this quickly, that is, if Meyer is hired in an interim capacity.

But this situation only creates a distraction from what needs to be done. The longer it drags out, the more negotiations will be affected going forward.

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