Max Scherzer Takes an Indirect Dig at New York Yankees for the MLB Lockout

Published 03/03/2022, 3:13 PM EST

The problems in Major League Baseball do not seem to end very soon. Following a 3-month long lockout, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has already canceled at least 90 games of the 2022 regular season. Notably, the players’ union, led by Max Scherzer, didn’t accept the owners’ last proposal before the deadline.

The owners and the players’ union were negotiating for the collective bargaining agreement for over three months. But they couldn’t reach a new agreement before the deadline. Now, the Mets’ star, Max Scherzer, has given a new turn to the negotiations.

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Not to forget, the main motive of the new CBA deal is better compensation for the younger players and a hike in salary. However, interestingly, the Mets star took an indirect dig at the New York Yankees and blamed them for the low payroll.

Max Scherzer blames New York Yankees for low payroll

Just before the lockout, Scherzer signed a three-year contract worth a whopping $130 million with the New York Mets. But the veteran pitcher is yet to play in the Mets jersey because of the owners’ lockout.

However, apart from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Scherzer targeted his rival team, New York Yankees, for low salaries in the league. He said that even San Diego Padres have a better payroll than the MLB giants.

Did MLB Just Send A Veiled Threat To Max Scherzer Through This Ultimatum?

“We look at the competitive balance tax as a breakaway spending mechanism. That’s how this thing was originally negotiated,” said Scherzer. “And… we’re not seeing that function as breakaway spending. We’re seeing it act as a salary cap. No other way can be shown, point-blank, plain and simple, than the San Diego Padres having a higher payroll than [the] New York Yankees.”

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Max Scherzer points out that the luxury tax is acting more like a salary cap considering the #Padres had a higher payroll than the #Yankees last year.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 2, 2022

However, as per NJ.Com, the Yankees actually have a better payroll than the San Diego Padres. During the last season, the New York Yankees had the fifth-highest payroll with $208,962,150. While with $208,235,701, the San Diego Padres were 6th on the list, approx $700,000 less than the Yankees.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper, And More- MLB Lockout Forces These Players ti Miss Out on Their Primes

Though Scherzer might be wrong with his data, his concern regarding the players’ benefit remains the same. Do you think the Yankees further fuel the problem that the players are fighting against?

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Written by:

Abhishek Kumar is an MLB author at EssentiallySports. After completing his Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, Abhishek has been working in the media industry since two years. Before joining EssentiallySports, he previously worked at APN News as a sub-editor, where he has written articles on sports and politics.

Max Scherzer Takes an Indirect Dig at New York Yankees for the MLB Lockout

Max Scherzer blames New York Yankees for low payroll

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