After getting a bit of a slap-back from Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey offered a hope for further dialogue in the continuing discussions regarding minor-league contraction and realignment.
“Senators Warren and Markey are looking forward to receiving further information about how MLB plans to support and continue its ongoing affiliation with popular local teams like the [Lowell] Spinners,” said a Senate spokesperson on Friday.
Warren and Markey wrote a letter to Manfred describing the “slap in the face” they felt over his much-publicized plan. It took the commissioner only a couple of weeks to reply, and his Dec. 20 response took a swing at minor-league owners.
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“I hope you will encourage the Minor League operators in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to tell their representatives to cease the unproductive campaign of misinformation and commit to negotiating in good faith,” signed off Manfred. “Such encouragement will help protect Minor League Baseball in Massachusetts.”
Since word leaked in October that the Red Sox-affiliated Spinners were one of 42 teams targeted to be stripped of affiliation or eliminated altogether, the community has rallied to its defense.
US Rep. Lori Trahan has been outspoken for Lowell, part of her district, as has its owner, Dave Heller. After a community meeting on Tuesday, an industry source said that MLB’s current plan would be for an affiliated minor-league team to stay in Lowell after the 2020 season, although it may or may not be affiliated with the Red Sox.
Manfred’s reply to Warren and Markey came a week after relations between Minor League Baseball and MLB, who are unsuccessfully negotiating for a new Professional Baseball Agreement, hit a low at the winter meetings in San Diego.
Soon after the meetings, and MiLB complaints about comments from Manfred and deputy commissioner Dan Halem, MLB threatened to walk away from negotiations and mused about starting a brand-new minor league system.
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Manfred’s pre-Christmas letter to Warren and Markey still carried plenty of bite against Minor League owners.
“[C]ertain Minor League Baseball officials have disseminated an inaccurate account of our conversations in an effort to create pressure on Major League Baseball,” Manfred wrote to each senator. “This tactic has undermined the trust necessary to successfully conclude any sort of an agreement . . . We can’t afford to allow players to sacrifice their health, well-being and professional development just so that Minor League owners can make a profit by chasing the largest public subsidy available and cutting corners all to the detriment of the abandoned communities.”
Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeSilvermanBB