Max Scherzer says door lock is ‘most likely scenario,’ calls MLB’s ‘competitive problem’

Wednesday is a big day for baseball and a big day for New York Mets. NS collective labor agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET, at which point owners are expected to lock out players, initiating baseball’s first outage since the 1994 players’ strike -95. When the lock will end is anyone’s guess.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Mets showcased their recent four free-agent signings – Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar, Starling Marte, and of course Max Scherzer – starting with Scherzer, a member of MLB Executive Subcommittee of the Players Association. Scherzer in Dallas as part of last minute negotiation session between MLB and MLBPA.

“Hearing the tone in the negotiations, a lockdown sounds like a very likely scenario, let’s just say it,” Scherzer told reporters, including ESPN’s Joon Lee and Britt Ghiroli of Athletic, during Wednesday’s press conference. “…First and foremost, we see a competitive problem. Being players is extremely important for us to have a highly competitive league. When we don’t have that, we don’t. I have a problem.”

The Coalition has been looking to eliminate anti-competitive behavior (i.e. busting) for years, and the upcoming CBA is their best chance to make sweeping changes. Right now, losing is encouraged through high and zero draft picks. The opposite needs to happen – winning has to be incentivized – in order to eliminate the boost altogether, although that would be difficult to do in a CBA.

Scherzer and the MLBPA are also looking for more money for younger players, whose teams of players rely more and more with each passing year. MLB wants to expand the field after the season (to generate more revenue), among other things. Baseball is a $10 billion a year industry, and how that $10 billion is distributed is the #1 issue in CBA negotiations.

Last season Scherzer, 37, won 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA and 236 strikes in 179 innings of the third with National citizen and Dodgers. He signed a three-year, record-breaking $130 million deal with the Mets and is one of eight players on the MLBPA’s executive subcommittee along with Zack Britton, Jason Castro, Gerrit Cole, Francisco Lindor, Andrew Miller, James Paxton, and Marcus Semien.