MLBPA Announces Investigation into Alex Anthopoulos' Comments About Free Agency

The MLB Players Association announced Wednesday it has begun an investigation into comments by Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos regarding the Braves' contact with other teams heading into free agency.   

"The statements made by Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos call into question the integrity of the entire free-agent system," MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said. "The clear description of Club coordination is egregious, and we have launched an immediate investigation looking into the matter."

The comments in question came when Anthopoulos was speaking with the media about the Braves' offseason plans, per The Athletic's David O'Brien:

"Every day you get more information. And we've had time to connect with 27 of the clubs — obviously the Astros and (Nationals) being in the World Series, they were tied up — but we had a chance to get a sense of what the other clubs are going to look to do in free agency, who might be available in trades. So, the three weeks have been productive for us, just getting more information. All that shaped some of the decisions that we made."

From the MLBPA's perspective, possible collusion could exist between the Braves and other MLB franchises to set the price for impending free agents.

O'Brien questioned whether that's what Anthopoulos implied:

However, it was impossible to ignore how slowly some of last offseason's biggest moves came together.

Whereas Bryce Harper and Manny Machado might have signed as soon as free agency opened in some years, they didn't put pen to paper on their deals until February. Harper signed for $330 million over 13 years with the Philadelphia Phillies, and Machado got $300 million over 10 years from the San Diego Padres.

Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel went unsigned until June, well into the 2019 regular season. They found new homes after the MLB draft, when the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox, respectively, would no longer receive a draft pick as compensation when they officially signed.

FiveThirtyEight's Travis Sawchik wrote last December how overall spending was trending downward, as well: "Through Monday, $442.5 million had been spent on free agents. That's down from $469.8 million at the same point last year, which was down from $976.5 million in the winter of 2016-17, $1.401 billion in 2015-16, $1.173 billion in 2014-15 and $1.229 billion through the middle of December 2013."

Before this season's playoffs even ended, two big-market teams had already indicated they planned to tightly monitor their payrolls ahead of the 2020 season.

Boston Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner confirmed in September they want to get the team under the luxury tax, which could mean trading J.D. Martinez or Mookie Betts. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Martinez is not opting out of his contract for next year, thus locking him in for $23.75 million.

While not speaking as specifically as Henry and Werner, Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts appeared to signal a focus on improving the team from within rather than targeting proven free agents.

Even if the MLBPA can't prove outright collusion between teams, Clark's statement shows the players' union is going to take a more aggressive approach toward the current financial trends in baseball.