He has done this with a campaign of public hand wringing seemingly designed to convince the media, and by extension the public, of the game's ills. But to this point, based on conversations with numerous labor sources, no one from the ownership side has broached the issue of contraction with the Major League Baseball Players Association. This seems strange, considering Paul Beeston, the sport's chief operating officer and lead negotiator, has been meeting off and on over the past few years with union chief Donald Fehr. Since contraction could mean the elimination of 50 to 100 roster spots, at minimum, it might make sense to run the idea by the powerful players union. Instead, the clock is ticking and the players are not sure what they're supposed to think.
All indications are they're serious, at least about exploring the possibility.
We're going to wait and see if they come up with a consensus or a plan, and we'll take it from there. All the players have to go on these days are rumors. No enlightening memoranda have come from the players association, which is busy researching its legal options should owners attempt to launch contraction unilaterally. Players in Montreal reportedly heard whispers that two teams will be eliminated before next season, with the Expos at the top of the list. Management sources insist owners formulated a contraction plan shortly after last year's World Series ended.