MLBPA’s Clark bothered by Twins' shrinking payroll

MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark is “bothered by the Twins’ shrunken payroll,” which at $137M is roughly $19M cheaper than two seasons ago, according to Phil Miller of the MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE. Clark said the Twins “weren’t as active during the offseason as they could have been, or some may think should have been,” and “those are the things we pay a lot of attention to.” Miller noted the MLBPA agreed last summer to change the current CBA to allow MLB to “redirect money collected from teams whose payrolls exceed the luxury tax to those teams -- the Twins among them -- whose revenues took a hit from the bankruptcy of the former Diamond Sports.” Clark said, “We’re working with the league to insure that as teams adapt and adjust, they have the financial resources, should there be need for them, to level out a shortfall.” Meanwhile, Miller noted what players are “most concerned about” is “talk of another shutdown” when the CBA expires in December 2026. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred suggested last month that locking out the players before the 2027 season, “in a bizarre way, it’s actually a positive.” Clark said that “just to be clear, players heard the commissioner say that. We’re not introducing anything new” (MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE, 3/8).