PORT STREET LUCIE — Francisco Lindor thinks there is room for improvement in the MLBPA, but he’s not calling for an overhaul of leadership.
The Mets shortstop was one of the players who participated in Monday’s Zoom conference call, during which there was a move to fire Bruce Meyer, the association’s chief negotiator and No. 2 MLBPA executive director.
Lindor was asked Tuesday by the Post’s Joel Sherman whether Clark and Meyer should be fired.
“I appreciate what they’ve done,” Lindor said. “This is a question that you have to be very careful about how you answer because people can misunderstand it, but I personally think it can definitely be improved, but I don’t want to exclude people from I’m not that kind of person. But there’s definitely room for improvement, including all of us.”
The Athletic first reported that former minor league defender and MLBPA official Harry Marino has been proposed as Meyer’s replacement.
One problem is that many players believe Clarke and Meyer are too aligned with agent Scott Boras.
This follows an offseason in which top free agents, many of whom Boras represented, remained unsigned into spring training.
Jordan Montgomery and JD Martinez (both Boras clients) are still available on the market. Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman and Blake Snell (all Boras clients) are among the players signed after camp began.
Players are also unhappy that J.D. Davis was released by the Giants last week and was paid only one-sixth of the $6.9 million he was supposed to receive after entering arbitration with the team. The provisions of the collective bargaining agreement permit the payment of such severance pay.
Mr. Lindor downplayed the idea that Mr. Boras has too much influence over the union, particularly Mr. Meyer.
“This is our union, and we can manage it and run it,” Lindor said. “Ultimately, Bruce and Tony do what we tell them to do. … They’re just our intermediaries.”
Lindor said the players are having “tough” talks ahead of the next round of CBA negotiations. The current CBA expires after the 2026 season.
