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Tony Clark is expected to announce his resignation as executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Plus: Nick Castellanos’ messy split with the Phillies has landed him in San Diego, Jayson Stark’s annual front-office survey is here and Ken writes about Bobby Witt Jr.’s return to the WBC.
What a day! I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
Breaking News: Clark’s expected resignation a shock
We start this morning with some big news: Tony Clark, head of the MLB Players Association (AKA the union) is expected to resign after 12-plus years at the helm.
It’s a sudden move. Clark was expected to start his annual tour of the 30 teams today with the Guardians. The team was informed at 6:00 a.m. local time that the meeting was cancelled.
But while the recent developments are sudden, it seems likely that the cause is something that has been brewing for a while. Evan Drellich reported back in June that Clark and the MLBPA hired separate lawyers in response to a federal investigation about “whether MLBPA officials used licensing money or equity to improperly enrich themselves.”
That investigation centers around OneTeam, a company co-founded with the NFLPA that specializes in players’ NIL (name, image, likeness) rights. It seems to have come from a whistleblower’s claim — which the union called “baseless” back in December 2024 — that Clark improperly granted himself equity in that company, along with claims of nepotism and other corruption and mismanagement.
This comes at a bad time for the union, as it gears up for negotiations with the league ahead of the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement after this season. Team owners seem likely to lock out players as they push for a salary cap.
There’s definitely more to come — we’ll keep you posted. Now, over to Ken.
Ken’s Notebook: Bobby Witt Jr. returns to WBC as focal point
From my latest column:
He looked like everyone’s little brother, always smiling, just happy to be there. Bobby Witt Jr. barely played in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. But his Team USA manager, Mark DeRosa, could see what was coming. His older teammates could, too.
“This guy,” Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt would tell each other, “is going to be different.”
Witt played the same role Alex Bregman fulfilled for Team USA in 2017, the same one Roman Anthony will inherit with the U.S. squad when this year’s tournament begins next month.
Eager young pupil. Apprentice in training. Star on the rise.
Bobby Wait.
“I knew what I was getting into from the beginning,” Witt said. “I knew I probably wasn’t going to play a lot.”
Coming off a good but unspectacular rookie season with the Royals, Witt appeared in only five games for Team USA — three as a pinch-runner, one as a pinch-hitter, one as a defensive replacement. But during workouts, his tools were unmistakable. He was a baseball prodigy, putting his natural gifts on display, impressing the older hands.
Witt could hit. He could run. He could defend both at shortstop and third base, a position where he started 50 times as a rookie. Adalberto Mondesi and Nicky Lopez, destined to be future trivia questions, were the other Royals shortstops that season. So, for four starts during a brief callup, was another rookie, Maikel Garcia.
Goldschmidt wasn’t sure about Witt’s power, thinking it might be depressed at Kauffman Stadium. Little did Goldschmidt know, Witt was about to produce back-to-back 30-homer seasons. Yet, for all Witt’s physical attributes, what impressed the Team USA players most about him was his demeanor.
Witt would ask questions, hang around the batting cage to talk hitting, quiz Arenado about his footwork at third. His professionalism was stunning for a player who had not yet turned 23, less stunning when considering that his father, Bobby Witt Sr., pitched in the majors for 16 years.
“The thing that stuck out with me is that he was really mature, had a really good head on his shoulders,” Goldschmidt said. “Confident but not cocky. Everything you would want.”
Back to you, Levi.
Questions: Stark’s front-office survey
It’s an annual rite of spring: Jayson Stark’s front-office poll. This year, he asked 36 “executives, retired executives, managers, coaches and scouts” to weigh in on a few pressing questions.
Let me tell you: The people being surveyed are not a monolith. Check out the responses to the three-team trade between the Rays, Mariners and Cardinals that sent Brendan Donovan to Seattle.
Yes, the consensus was that the Mariners came out ahead. But here’s how the votes came in, when asked who did the best:
- Mariners’ end: 8
- Loved all three teams’ return: 2
- Cardinals’ end: 1
- Rays’ end: 1
- Just loved Mariners/Rays: 1
- Just loved Mariners/Cards: 1
No wonder trades are hard.
Other topics included: Most/least improved, best/worst (and biggest bargain) free-agent signings, least-recognizable team and the question that got its own side article: Which player is most likely to be traded during spring training?
Big Swing: Castellanos joins suddenly-active Padres
Everyone saw the split coming. Nick Castellanos wasn’t coming back. A trade would have felt a bit more dignified, but when no partner materialized, the Phillies unceremoniously cut ties with Castellanos on Friday, eating $20 million to get him off the roster.
That was also the day Matt Gelb reported how the relationship between the two reached its breaking point back in June, when Castellanos brought a beer into the Phillies dugout mid-game, upset about being removed for a defensive replacement. I thought Gelb’s delineation between “good teammate” and “bad team player” was especially sharp.
It didn’t take long for Castellanos to find a new home in San Diego, where he’ll attempt to play first base. It was one of a slew of moves for the Padres, who have been playing catch-up since the start of camp. A few moves of note:
Handshakes and High Fives
Zac Gallen has returned to the DBacks on a one-year deal worth $22.025 million.
The automated ball-strike challenge system (ABS) means TV viewing of the strike zone box will change a bit, but I’m more interested in this: Umpires can request real-time feedback on specific pitches? How will this be — discreetly, I presume — signaled to the booth? So many questions.
With a labor battle brewing, Rob Manfred’s biggest fight might be with his own team owners about TV broadcast rights.
As promised, Jon Greenberg followed up with White Sox GM Chris Getz about (repeatedly) referring to Luisangel Acuña as a switch-hitter (which he is not).
The details continue coming in the pitch-rigging case against Emmanuel Clase. The latest: chicken- and rooster-themed text messages, and allegations of a rigged pitch in a playoff game.
Alex Vesia spoke publicly for the first time since his newborn daughter passed away during last year’s World Series.
On the pods: Rates and Barrels have season previews for the DBacks, Braves and Royals.
Most-clicked in our last newsletter: A lot of you were curious what Wikipedia had to say about the hamate bone.
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