Phillies’ Garrett Stubbs Shares Strong Stance on Players’ Union CBA Negotiations

Philadelphia Phillies MLB players union rep Garrett Stubbs did not hold back when speaking on the CBA negotiations.

Aug 30, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

As Major League Baseball prepares for its All-Star game and the associated festivities, all of which will be held at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, the prospect of a labor stoppage hangs over the sport.

Many have expected that a lockout will take place this winter in Major League Baseball. The current collective bargaining agreement between the players' union and the owners ends this Dec. 1, and plenty of team owners want to institute a salary cap.

It is thought that a salary cap is desired at least partly because of the recent success of the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who are owned by billionaire Mark Walter and almost seem to print their own currency.

The players' union is opposed to such a system, which is why a lockout is expected. Assuming one takes place, it could seriously threaten the 2027 MLB season.

Garrett Stubbs does not hold back on feelings on CBA negotiations

Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) throws to first base for an out in the first inning of the MLB baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

For the Phillies, backup catcher Garrett Stubbs is their union representative. This is the third year in a row he has held that role for the franchise, and he made his feelings known about what could take place during collective bargaining talks.

In addition to a salary cap, Major League Baseball is proposing major changes to the way amateur players enter the pros. For one thing, it wants to disallow prospects from being drafted until they are two years beyond their high school graduation, just as the NBA instituted a rule that players can't be eligible for its draft until age 19 and one year after their high school graduation.

Per Phillies Nation, Stubbs slammed the league for its stance.

“It’s a bummer that the league starts in an unserious place like that,” Stubbs said. “I mean, everyone can see it. The rhetoric needs to change around it so we can actually get to the table and start talking. And we’re trying to get to the table and start talking now so that we don’t have any sort of work stoppage in the future, but if you’re going to start in places like that, you know, I don’t know where we head from there.”

Stubbs also recalled an acrimonious meeting that took place last year in the Philadelphia clubhouse between the team's players and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

Garrett Stubbs vocal in displeasure of CBA talks

Apr 25, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run against the Atlanta Braves in the tenth inning at Truist Park. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“It’s probably the most veteran clubhouse around the league, if not one of. Guys have seen multiple labor negotiations happen,” Stubbs, who was on the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs at the time of the meeting, said. “They understand the dynamic between the league and the players. And unfortunately, Manfred has kind of created a rhetoric between players and the league that isn’t a positive one.

“He always comes into the locker room and tries to act like nothing’s wrong and that, ‘We’re trying to make the player’s situation better and this is supposed to be a conversation and we want this to be something good for the players and something good for the league.’ But then you see (draft) proposals like that. So how are we supposed to look at a proposal like that? You’re telling us that you want to start a conversation and listen to us?”

The last time Major League Baseball had a labor stoppage that cost it games was back in 1994. As a result, the season was put on pause in August of that year and never resumed, which meant the playoffs and the World Series were cancelled. It wasn't until April 1995 that the strike ended, and it took years for the sport to recover from the damage that had been done.

Stubbs, 33, is in his fifth year with Philadelphia. Through 20 games this year, he has recorded five hits and two runs batted in, and he has a batting average of .179.

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