MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s evasive answer to salary cap question will increase lockout concerns

Avoiding an MLB lockout must be the goal for the league. However, if MLB and the MLBPA fail to come to an agreement on one of the most pressing subjects at the moment — the idea of a salary cap — a lockout may be what ends up occurring next season. It would be a brutal blow to a sport that is beginning to find momentum once again after a few years of stagnation. When asked about the salary cap — as MLB wants it and the MLBPA does not — commissioner Rob Manfred provided an answer that may further cause lockout concerns.

“I have an ownership group that is more united than any group in my entire time in baseball,” Manfred said before the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

Manfred did not specifically address the MLBPA element of the situation in his response, rather focusing on MLB and ownership groups.

Owners in smaller markets could realistically spend more in free agency in the current setup, but there is no denying the fact that big-market ball clubs have advantages right now. A salary cap would help to provide more all-around competitive balance, but it also would place a cap on how much players can make.

Both sides understandably want to get what they are pushing for. The problem is that it could come at the expense of people who work in baseball, the sport itself, and fans, as a lockout would be an unfortunate scenario to say the least. An MLB lockout remains realistic, but hopefully both sides can come together before it happens and work out a new CBA agreement.

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