Tyler Glasnow shares his thoughts on the CBA negotiations

The lockout may be over, but that doesn’t mean players have to be particularly happy about it. Considering the eight members of the union executive committee all voted against the deal, it’s safe to say that there’s still a lot of animosity brewing among union members in terms of how they’ve been treated by Rob Manfred and MLB ownership over the last few months.

In a recent interview on Jomboy Media’s The Chris Rose Rotation, Tyler Glasnow shares that he thinks MLB has been trying to pin blame for the lengthy CBA negotiations onto the players, and he isn’t going to mince his words about it.

In this clip from the interview, he explains that it’s not fair to suggest the players have continually shifted the goalposts, but rather that they’ve been responding to minor adjustments from MLB.

He also pointed out that when stories circulated early in the week that a deal was nearly done, that wasn’t the general feeling among the players in the union, and Glasnow said he believes stories like that were pushed by MLB so that when a deal wasn’t finalized it would make the players look bad to the fans. “Who’s the general public going to be disappointed in... I think it’s just easy to assign blame.”

This has been a lockout like no other. While the 1994 strike still looms large in our collective memories—even for those who were not yet born—the present situation has happened in the public eye. Players have been able to openly share their opinions without needing the pen of a newspaper beat writer to help them. They can simply take to Twitter to share their feelings and frustrations. So, too, the access to information has changed, with leaks being dropped from both sides in an effort to share news and sentiment with the general public.

Glasnow being given the ability to speak freely on a podcast is something totally unique to this season’s lockout that never could have worked during a strike like that in 1994. It’s refreshing, especially given Glasnow’s habit of being both thoughtful and unflinching when it comes to sharing his opinions and perceptions.

Another interesting thing from the clip above is the story about Max Scherzer being an “emissary” for superagent Scott Boras, something that has become a popular narrative thanks to the connection Boras has to the holdout players. To suggest that Max Scherzer is anyone’s mouthpiece or puppet is certainly a bold move, but when Rose asked Glasnow point-blank if any of the stories of his insane tirade was true, Glasnow laughed and said, “No. That’s dumb.”

He went on to explain that while he wasn’t in the room for all the negotiations, he has been present when Max has been involved in negotiating. He concluded by saying, “I mean, the times I’m not there I can’t speak on but I’m gonna go ahead and call that a lie. I don’t think that’s true at all.”

This is the kind of narrative spin that is meant to sow uncertainty among fans who hear about it. If we are to believe, as the rumor suggests, that Scherzer and other Boras clients are negotiating only with the wants of their agent in mind, it refocuses this as a narrative about player greed. If we call Max Scherzer “insane” because of his behavior, it makes it seem like the owners were calm and rational, while the players were led only by irrationality and emotion.

There’s no doubt whatsoever that Scherzer and the other members of the union executive committee have been frustrated—and angry—throughout this. You could see it on their faces in photos, and hear it in the statements made by players. But there’s a difference between frustration and insanity, and for a rumor to be spread about Scherzer’s behavior certainly makes one wonder who would benefit from discrediting a member of the MLBPA.

While the interview with Glasnow touches on the tough spot players find themselves in, it covers plenty of bases, not all of them so serious. You can watch the full episode here, which also includes Glasnow’s reaction to the news of the Rays making an offer for Freddie Freeman, and also offering Rose some diet tips: “It’s hard. I have weaknesses, too.”

Update: Glasnow has shared his feelings on the deal being signed.