SARASOTA, Fla. — After meeting with Orioles players Monday morning in the clubhouse, Tony Clark, the executive director for the Major League Baseball Players Association, commended the increased payroll in Baltimore under owner David Rubenstein but maintained his stance that a salary cap is a nonstarter for players.

Rubenstein told Yahoo! Finance at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that he wishes MLB had a salary cap. When he met with media at spring training in February, he said his focus for MLB is to create a “competitive environment,” and that “if you look at other sports, the other sports which have that kind of arrangement seem to have players that are pretty happy with the situation.”

While Rubenstein stopped short of saying whether baseball players would welcome it, he noted that “players in other leagues seem to be OK.”

Clark, who has been at the helm of the players association since 2013, said the interest from ownership for a salary cap is nothing new.

“We remain of the mind, as we have over the last 50 or 60 years, that the industry does not need it,” Clark said. “It is not necessary. Whether it’s from a ‘competitive balance’ standpoint, or whether it’s from the ability of the industry to continue to grow and move forward, all of those things have happened in the absence of [a salary cap] and our game has thrived as a result.”

The Orioles have expanded their payroll by about 50% compared to 2024. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, Baltimore is expected to hold a $160 million payroll, which ranks 15th out of 30 teams. It wasn’t long ago when the Orioles were at or near the very bottom of that list.

“There was a period of time here where the payroll wasn’t perhaps what it could have been or should have been, and so I can appreciate the adjustments that have been made,” Clark said. “They’ve got an outstanding club in the clubhouse and they’ve made additions to the club that should undoubtedly be helpful in putting them in the best position to be the last team standing. We are always hopeful that all 29 teams function in the same capacity, but the desire for a salary cap is not a new one.”

The subject of the salary cap should be a major hurdle ahead of the league and players’ association when the collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 season. Responding to comments from MLB commissioner Robert Manfred, Clark said he expects there could be a work stoppage as the sides negotiate.

In January, Manfred told The Athletic that an offseason lockout is “actually a positive” because of the leverage applied to the bargaining parties. There was last a lockout ahead of the 2022 season, but the full 162-game schedule was still played.

“Despite the fact that there was an announcement that there’s more viewership and more attendance than it has been in the last 10 or so years, you’re hearing the rhetoric around a salary cap because there’s an interest in moving more of that revenue from one side of the equation to the other,” Clark said. “And so we’ll have a conversation about all of those moving pieces. When the league is interested in sitting down to negotiate, history would suggest that that would happen sometime in early next year. So, we’re still a little ways out of doing that and we’re hopeful that 2025 is another positive year for all involved.”