The Mets putting K-Rod on the disqualified list yesterday was a tough but defensible move. I think the union will fight it because, in essence, the Mets are punishing K-Rod twice for the same conduct, but it’s at least possible that it will stick.
The Mets declaration that K-Rod’s contract is non-guaranteed going forward, however, is basically without precedent and will cause the MLBPA to scorch the Earth in order to get it overturned. I mean, it’s one thing to discipline K-Rod for being a jackass, but it’s another thing altogether to threaten one of the most significant accomplishments in sports labor history (i.e. baseball’s guaranteed contracts).
If I had to guess, the move to make the deal non-guaranteed was a move designed to placate angry fans and tabloids. The Mets, having determined that they couldn’t void the deal, wanted to do the next toughest thing. The problem, though, is that they apparently have no right under the CBA to do it and they’ll ultimately be unsuccessful. And, since the union is fighting anyway, they’ll likely put more gusto into their attack on the decision to put K-Rod on the disqualified list than they may have otherwise done, which may lead to less of a punishment than he might have otherwise received.
The upshot: the Mets gave the union a reason to fight hard when it may have left well enough alone (even the MLBPA isn’t immune to the PR concerns here, and K-Rod is tough to defend right now), and their overreach may very well bite them in the ass.
Of course, this is the Mets, and they have an uncanny knack for taking a situation in which they have the high ground and frittering it away in the end.
