All-MLB Player Union Rep Team 2019-20

In honor of Netflix's The Irishman - which, if you haven't defied Martin Scorsese and streamed it on your phone yet, centers on Jimmy Hoffa's tenure atop the International Brotherhood of Teamsters - I'm going to take a deep dive into the players at the forefront of Major League Baseball's collective bargaining union: the MLB Player's Association. The terrific website MLB Trade Rumors dot com recently profiled the known player representatives for each team, with the caveat that some information is incomplete and/or subject to change. But given this snapshot, I thought it would be fun to organize these labor-minded players into a projected roster and see what it might look like. Here's the list, with player entries taken from my MLB 2019 database, sorted by position:

The first thing to notice is the abundance of shortstops in the player pool. What, a guy is named the "captain of the infield," and all of a sudden he thinks he can speak for his team in labor matters? The next thing I want to mention are the six stray players at the bottom. The first group is former player reps who no longer play for the team that they once represented. The second group are pension committee reps (with one alternate) who aren't also affiliated with a team. So without further ado, let's analyze a potential All-Player's Union Roster!

At the front of the starting rotation, Max Scherzer has not only been one of the most successful player of the last decade (because all-decade stuff is cool for another four days, right?), but also one of the most outspoken, making him a good leader for both on and off-field issues. Following him is recently-acquired Yankees lefty James Paxton, the man known as "Big Maple," due to his large stature and Canadian ancestry, who provides the perspective of a north-of-the-border hurler. Another pair of lefties, Marco Gonzales, of Paxton's former Mariners team, and Andrew Heaney, who plays in Anaheim, are just starting to come into their own. It would be a lot easier to round out this rotation if we could dip into the former player reps - Chase Anderson used to represent the Brewers, but he was traded to the Blue Jays this offseason. Otherwise we'd have to bank on a super-early return to health for Pirates once and future ace Jameson Taillon's elbow.

The pool for the all union bullpen (can we just start calling this team the Unions?) is made up of 75 percent Geminis. Matt Barnes was once considered the Red Sox closer heir-apparent, after the departure of Craig Kimbrel, but before the emergence of Brandon Workman. Andrew Miller was once considered one of the game's top lefty relievers, but could his chronic overuse in the 2016 postseason have hampered his future potential? There's no choice but to draw from the Executive Sub-Committee here, where Collin McHugh adds some length to the staff, as he has had both starting and relief experience in his career with the Astros. However, McHugh is only an Alternate member of the Pension Committee; full member Cory Gearrin was little more than a bit player in terms of 2019 fantasy points.

Not only do the Unions have access to three catchers, but the top two are uniquely suited to a platoon arrangement - Tucker Barnhart is a left-handed hitter known for his defensive prowess, while Tyler Flowers is a bat-first righty. Rounding out Gearrin's co-rep on the pension sub-committee, veteran free agent Chris Iannetta would be great to have in the proverbial labor minor leagues - or just as a third catcher. A roster can have a little third catcher, as a treat. Going by POS and PTS, Phillies slugging first baseman Rhys Hoskins would be the best bet to put up the most points at his customary position. You'll notice that there are technically no qualified second basemen in the player pool, but we can draw from our bumper crop of shortstops. My best solution would be to move Athletics MVP candidate, and highest-scoring All-Union player, Marcus Semien to the keystone, with Indians trade candidate Francisco Lindor remaining at short.

Speaking of Lindor, the Puerto Rican-born "Mr. Smile" is one of only three Latin American born players in the All-Union talent pool. The other two: both Venezuelan shortstops: Rangers veteran Elvis Andrus (from Maracay) and Marlins superutility type Miguel Rojas (Los Teques). Moving around the horn to third base, Kris Bryant is the top eligible point scorer there (no matter when he eventually becomes a free agent), but if you've skipped ahead to the dearth of outfield options, you'll see that he's needed in the grass. The good news is that leaves the hot corner for Justin Turner, whose 2020 position could be in flux, depending on whether the Dodgers score a big trade for an infielder. (Maybe Lindor, anyone? What would be the competitive advantage of hoarding player union reps?)

At the end of the official team reps, you'll see Michael Conforto of the Mets, the only eligible primary outfielder - who luckily also has secondary eligibility in center field, where he needs to play. Bryant can occupy another corner (let's call it right field), but how do we round out the outfield mix? Should we return to shortstop? Surely either Andrus or defensive whiz Nick Ahmed has the athletic ability to handle left field, despite a TOTAL lack of MLB experience for each one. We could look at Hoskins's 2018 as the primary left fielder in Philadelphia, but  we can all agree that experiment didn't go too well - even though that arrangement would leave 1B in the capable hands of the veteran lefty Daniel Murphy. But a more traditional solution lies in the former player reps. Gold Glove left fielder Alex Gordon used to speak for the Royals, before he hit free agency, and the consensus is that he'll either retire, or re-sign with Kansas City, in which case he would presumably return to his union rep role because why not? I hope the Aquarius outfielder comes back, because, to paraphrase Hanibal Lector, the league's more interesting with Gordon in it.


If you take into account Taillon's injury, which will likely keep him out of action until the summer, there are exactly enough confirmed union-related MLB'ers to make a 25-player roster. (Never mind that the limit is going up to an even (yet somehow infinitely less satisfying) 26 players next year.) I have no idea how a team like this would perform in a simulation against the rest of the league. (I recently had to uninstall MLB19 to make room on my PS4 for MK11, so I can't run the numbers myself.) But with so many players accustomed to life at the negotiating table, I'll bet the clubhouse chemistry would be off the charts... in one direction or another.