Manfred’s Outrageous Player Contract Proposal Could Alter Houston Astros’ Plans

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and the 30 MLB owners want to limit the length of player contracts.

Manfred spoke at the Sports Business Journal's World Congress of Sports Conference on Tuesday.There are currently no limits on MLB contracts. These types of limits could have a direct impact on a number of franchises such as the Houston Astros.

Astros general manager Dana Brown could have long-term contracts soon with Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez. In the not-too-distant-future, new deals could be negotiated with Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman.

Any contract limit changes would be difficult for the Astros.

“A reform that has been of interest to ownership for a number of years is a limitation of contract length," Manfred said at the conference. "Obviously players love it, it gives them financial security for a very long period of time. The difficulty — and I think players will come to appreciate this as time goes by — those contracts result in a transfer from the current stars to yesterday's stars. At some point, that has to be true. And I think it is an issue that is important for us to stay focused on, because it creates inflexibility that affects the quality of the teams that you put on the field."

If there are changes on the horizon regarding player contracts, it could severely change the look of a team like the Astros.

"The public statements from Rob Manfred about the owners' desire to limit guaranteed contracts is just one more in a series of statements attacking fundamental aspects of baseball's free market system and the freedom of clubs and players to structure deals in the best interests of all parties," MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark said in a statement to The Athletic. "The ability of individual clubs to act in their own self-interest in determining how best to put an exciting product on the field for their fans is not something that should be restricted. Anyone who believes that players would ever endorse an assault by management on guaranteed contracts is badly mistaken."

Expect many twists and turns in the next several months. This is just the start of what's sure to be a controversial topic.

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