MLB investigating whether Mets, Yankees communicated improperly about Aaron

Major League Baseball is investigating whether comments attributed to Mets sources about the team’s reluctance to pursue free-agent outfielder Aaron Judge constitute a violation of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.

An article published on the Mets’ television network’s web site Nov. 3 said the Mets would not bid against the Yankees for Judge. Details in the story caught the attention of the Players Association, which asked the Commissioner’s Office to investigate whether improper communication occurred between the respective owners of the clubs, according to sources briefed on the situation.

A separate comment by Astros owner Jim Crane on his team’s web site Tuesday, saying Justin Verlander was seeking a contract similar to Max Scherzer’s, also could prompt scrutiny from the Players Association if the union perceives it be a violation of the CBA.

The union maintains the right to file a grievance over either or both situations. To win a grievance, the union would need to prove that the markets for Judge and/or Verlander were damaged, which could be difficult considering they are two of the offseason’s most coveted free agents. But the union remains sensitive to the threat of the owners conspiring to hold down free-agent salaries, as they did more than 30 years ago in the sports’ biggest collusion cases.

Recent CBAs specifically prohibit the sharing of information on player contracts, saying, “Players shall not act in concert with other Players and Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs.” The league in its investigation is expected to request that Mets owner Steve Cohen and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner provide records of any phone, text and email conversations that took place between them during the period in question.

The SNY.tv article stated the Mets’ position on Judge had not changed since April, when team sources said the club would not fight the Yankees for the outfielder if he became a free agent during the offseason. The article also said Cohen and Steinbrenner “enjoy a mutually respectful relationship, and do not expect to upend that with a high-profile bidding war.”

Officials from MLB and the Players Association declined to comment, and the Mets, Yankees and Astros did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Three times in the late 1980s, independent arbitrators ruled the owners worked together to avoid bidding competitively on free agents. A settlement of the three cases resulted in the owners agreeing to pay the players $280 million. The players later alleged the owners also engaged in collusion in 2002 and 2003, and the owners agreed to pay the players $12 million without an admission of guilt as part of the 2006 CBA.

In addition to the specific language in the CBA regarding collusion, the agreement spells out the details the parties are not permitted to disclose publicly about contract negotiations. Both stipulations remain in effect in the new CBA, which the parties are…