Pirates, Marlins Reportedly Under MLBPA Investigation for Revenue-Sharing Issues

The Major League Baseball Players Association is reportedly researching whether the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates are in compliance with revenue-sharing guidelines after high-profile trades featuring Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole.

On Friday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the MLBPA wants to determine whether those clubs are investing the financial windfall they receive from revenue sharing back into baseball operations as they attempt to slash payroll before the 2018 season.

However, MLB released a statement, per Adam Berry of MLB.com, that they have no concerns over either team:

In January 2016, Mike Ozanian of Forbes noted only one of the top-five teams in revenue-sharing income over the previous four years finished inside the top 25 in payroll expenses over the same period (San Diego Padres).

Most of the clubs receiving money from the league's biggest spenders, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, weren't using it on high-priced contracts.

The biggest problem, however, is that there's no system in place for fans to know how the funds are being used, per Ozanian.

Now the situation is being brought back to the forefront as players and agents examine a sluggish free-agent market that's left marquee players such as Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Eric Hosmer and J.D. Martinez unsigned with just a few weeks until spring training.

The front offices in Miami and Pittsburgh are seemingly starting to follow Houston's plan: trade proven veterans for prospects to create a roster capable of losing a lot of games in order to acquire high draft picks.

While the Astros' World Series triumph in 2017 proved it's a worthwhile approach, they had three 100-plus-loss seasons during the process. It's also drawing the ire of the MLBPA, with top players struggling to find the lucrative contract offers they received as free agents in years past.