Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch talks lockout, CBA: 'Out of our control'

LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch took questions Wednesday for the first time since Major League Baseball ended its lockout on the players.

Ilitch conversed with Tigers coaches and players as a group Wednesday morning. He chatted with some players individually, too. He arrived at Joker Marchant Stadium with his son, Trevor, and general manager Al Avila to watch his team's infield drills and batting practice.

Shortstop Javier Baez and catcher Tucker Barnhart checked in with Ilitch this morning, Avila said, "specifically to thank him" for improving the roster this offseason. Barnhart previously spoke out about MLB's supposed lack of competitive integrity, as did right-handed pitcher Casey Mize.

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As Ilitch sauntered toward the Tigers' dugout, he was met by about a half-dozen reporters. He faced numerous questions about MLB owners' 99-day lockout, which began Dec. 2, and collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the MLB Players Association.

Ilitch opposed raising the competitive balance tax, which was $210 million last season, and opposed MLB's March 1 offer to the MLBPA that included a $220 million CBT, according to The Athletic's Evan Drellich.

The offer, at the time dubbed by owners as a best and final offer, was rejected by the players' union.

On March 10, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to a collective bargaining agreement, thus ending the lockout. The five-year CBA solidified an increased minimum salary, a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players and an increased CBT.

The CBT, also known as the luxury tax, begins at $230 million in 2022 and increases to $244 million by 2026. The minimum salary is $700,000 this season, a 22.7% raise from the previous year's $570,500 rate, and jumps to $780,000 by the end of the CBA's term.

The pre-arbitration bonus pool is set at $50 million annually.

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The Tigers have committed $235.5 million to four free agents, along with an additional $7.5 million in 2022 for Barnhart's club option after acquiring him in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds.

Three teams have spent more than the Tigers: Texas Rangers ($580.7 million), Los Angeles Dodgers ($266.2 million) and New York Mets ($258.5 million).

The Tigers added five players to MLB contracts entering the 2022 season: Barnhart (one year, $7.5 mil, Baez (six years, $140 million), left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez (five years, $77 million), left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin (two years, $13 million) and right-handed starter Michael Pineda (one year, $5.5 million).

Here's everything Ilitch said during Wednesday's surprise appearance:

Was there ever a point where you were worried that we wouldn't be out here and the season was in jeopardy during that dispute?

"Just like anybody else, I was hoping that it was not going to be extended and we would be out here playing baseball. And we are, so it's exciting. You just don't know how those things are going to go. It involves a lot of people and a lot of issues that are out of our control, quite frankly. You just hope. And here we are. Baseball is back on the field. I'm trilled. I'm exciting that baseball's back. Quite frankly, I'm really excited about our team. Our team, a lot of promise, a lot of excitement around this ballclub. The future is bright, and here we are."

What do you think, maybe it's too early to tell, the fallout with the fans might be? Are you seeing anything? Is there a gauge for you to see if there's a fallout from the lockout?

"I talked a lot to our staff on the business operations side that talk to our fans quite often. They tell me our fans are like me — they're fired up for this ballclub, they're excited about this ballclub. We have a lot of young players that are coming. Al and his team have done a wonderful job filling in some of our needs with some really solid free agents. Our fans are smart. Tiger fans are smart. They're excited about what's going on. That's the feedback I get from our team. And that, I think, is what's really happening in terms of the people that interface with the fans most in our organization."

How does the CBT, part of the new agreement, impact what you do and impact this club, where that tax threshold is at?

"It really doesn't impact us any way differently. We have a plan. Al and myself and the entire organization have been very explicit, very transparent with you guys over the last seven years as to what our plan is. It really was to strengthen the organization, starting with the analytics, player development, scouting, sports technology and sports science. We've done that. And then it's to draft and develop our players and bring up a lot of young prospects. And we've done that. And then the plan is to fill in with free agents, and that's exactly what we've done. The new collective bargaining agreement is for all teams to play within, and we're no different than any other team."

Did you actually object to raising the competitive balance tax at any point, and if so, what was your rationale?

"I'd like to take a moment and address that topic, and really set the record straight. As we all know, all 30 major league owners voted 30-0 to approve the collective bargaining agreement, rather to ratify that agreement. When we ratified that agreement, it became very evident that this is an agreement that has an increase in salary for pre-arbitration players, it has a bonus pool that was added for some of our brightest young players and importantly, it has an increase in the collective bargaining tax threshold. The evidence is very clear as to how I voted and what I voted for. Anything else is basically, any other controversy around that subject, is really just noise that was created within a very competitive environment, a tough negotiation and teams creating noise for their own gain or their own advantage. The evidence is really clear as to what I voted for and how I voted. I'll leave it at that.

"I guess the only other thing I would say is, you look at what Al and his team and what our organization has done during this offseason, we've addressed a lot of needs. We have gone out and done exactly what we said we would do, which is fill in our needs from free agency. When you look at what we've added, I think our club added as much payroll as any club in baseball over the course of this offseason. You add it all up, it's pretty clear where I stand on this issue, and my record is very clear in terms of how I voted and what I voted for. You guys have to sort through, in a competitive environment, what others put out there and why they put it out there to create noise and for their own competitive gain."

To make sure I'm understanding correctly, you never once voted against raising the CBT?

"Never. To be frank, there wasn't a vote before. There's only been one vote through this entire process, and it was 30-0. All owners, including myself, voted for it. I never voted against the CBT tax increase or threshold, number one. And number two, there wasn't even a vote to be had. I'll leave it at that. You get in an environment like this, where there's a lot of tension and it's a very tough negotiation, you're going to have issues like this. You guys are all really smart. You have to understand there's a lot at play, and there's a lot of competing forces. People are going to do what they're going to do. But my record is very, very clear."

You obviously got a lot of blowback for that. What was your reaction when there was a report (The Athletic) that you voted against (raising the CBT during the negotiations)?

"To be frank, I try to just focus on our organization and what we need to do for Tiger fans to deliver a World Series championship team. That's what I'm focused on. I don't want to disappoint you guys, but I don't pay a lot of attention to what's written or said. It really doesn't matter. What matters is that we stay focused on our play, we keep doing what is right — day in and day out — to build a World Series championship for Tiger fans. Tiger fans deserve it. Tiger fans have been incredibly patient. They have lived through this rebuild process that we laid out quite clearly from the beginning. Credit to Al and his entire team, and AJ (Hinch), they've worked very hard, and they're delivering exactly what the plan was and how we laid it out. And it's exciting. Here we are.

"I was just talking to players this morning in the clubhouse. The energy, the chemistry, you guys have been around it, you can feel it, I can feel it. We can all feel it. It's exciting. And I think Tiger fans are going to be really excited about this team. As our No. 1 fan, my son Trevor, says, he goes, 'Dad, this team has really got the potential to surprise some different teams. We're going to surprise some folks, some of the prognosticators.'"

We witnessed a different vibe, too. What was the vibe you got?

"The vibe was really great. I talked to the players as a group, and then I talked to a number of them individually. You could feel there's great chemistry. You could tell they're appreciative. I think our fans are appreciative and excited that we're investing in our ballclub to build a competitive ballclub for the long term. And our players, they're also appreciative and they're excited. I think they're excited with all the new additions. All of these guys are going to play an important role."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Christopher Ilitch talks CBA, lockout