Just as the MLBPA braces for a contentious CBA fight, its own house is crumbling from within. The union has now axed two more key figures, a move hinting that a federal probe has uncovered issues that run deeper than previously known.
The Athletic reported this and wrote, “Chief operating officer Xavier James and chief human resources officer Michael O’Neill were both terminated with cause on Wednesday.”
What started as a strong period of leadership control for the union has quickly fallen apart. The MLBPA fired Xavier James and Michael O’Neill after an internal review that was triggered by an ongoing federal investigation into the union’s finances.
These firings came after a report from lawyer Adam Braverman, who is running the internal investigation, was given to the union’s leadership. ESPN first reported the news, and both executives were later confirmed to be gone from their roles.
While the union hasn’t made a public statement about the firings, these moves make it clear that there is trouble inside the office.
Things started going wrong earlier when Tony Clark stepped down as executive director in February. His exit came after a whistleblower accused him of favoritism and misuse of union resources. This was happening at the same time as an ongoing federal investigation into the union.
After Clark was forced to resign, Bruce Meyer took over as interim leader to steady things. But even after that, the pressure inside the union has kept growing.
Chris Capuano was then named interim COO, and Ian Penny moved into the HR role. Capuano has worked with the union since 2019 and was a major part of business planning. He also helped manage Players Way, a youth project that was shut down after heavy spending and weak results.
That project cost close to $10 million and raised more questions when the government probe began. These changes showed the union is trying to fix the leadership, while more problems keep popping up.
The bigger issue is how the union handled money and business projects over time.
The federal probe is specifically looking into how decisions were made regarding both Players Way and OneTeam Partners. Critics inside the sport have said the union lost clear control of its spending and direction long ago.
The pressure is now high because the current CBA deal ends on December 1, 2026. Owners are expected to push for a salary cap, which players have always rejected.
If no agreement is reached, a lockout could happen, like in 2021 and 2022. The union now has to fix its internal issues while preparing for huge talks ahead. Right now, everything feels unstable, and the next steps will decide what happens next.
The MLBPA is getting ready for a long fight during the CBA negotiations
The MLBPA reportedly has around $519.3 million in assets coming into the 2026 season. That was a drastic 47% rise from 2025, when they had around $353.1 million. This huge increase makes it clear that the Players Association is preparing for a long lockout heading into the CBA negotiations, which end this year.
The owners are also getting ready for a fight. They are reportedly holding reserves of around $2 billion as negotiations approach.
Players helped build this reserve by skipping licensing payouts during the current agreement. Instead, that money was saved and invested to prepare for possible lockouts that might last longer than required. This same approach was used before the 2021 talks, when reserves stood at $171 million.
A major part of that recent financial growth came through U.S. Treasury investments, which saw a sharp spike after the 2025 season. Holdings rose from $85.3 million early in 2025 to $222.1 million by year’s end. So if we consider only the total cash, Treasuries, and investments, it stands at $415 million across the union portfolio.
This gives the players confidence that they will not be facing any problems with the money during a major lockout that might last longer than it did in the 2021 season.
With the agreement reported to end on December 1, 2026, the owners are expected to push for a salary cap. Executive director Bruce Meyer said such systems shift money unfairly, limiting earnings for many players.
This is something that the players have been opposing for many years, since the start of baseball. Between the owners and the players, the fans will be the ones missing out on the action and will be hoping that both parties reach an agreement sooner rather than later.
