Giants outfielder Joc Pederson rips MLB owners for 'unacceptable' payroll disparities

MLB players and owners may have come together on an agreement to end the 99-day lockout earlier this month, but the acrimony surrounding many of the dispute's central financial issues still remains.

The latest evidence comes from two-time World Series champion outfielder Joc Pederson, who signed a one-year, $6 million free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants just last week.

Referencing one of the MLB Players Association's chief complaints, Pederson called out three MLB teams in particular -- the Cleveland Guardians, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles -- on Wednesday for their apparent unwillingness to field competitive rosters.

"Embarrassed for your fan base ... be better. If you can't, sell (your) team to somebody that wants to show the fan base and baseball they're at least trying to compete," Pederson tweeted, along with a graphic showing difference of at least $200 million between the top three and the bottom three teams' total payroll figures.

"Sorry unacceptable," he added.

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MLB clubs will each receive an estimated $65 million in national television revenue this season. That's in addition to their local TV deals that vary by market. And since 1996, MLB's revenue-sharing plan has put a percentage of every team's local revenue into a pool to be redistributed equally among the 30 teams. (Although that didn't happen in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.)

In addition, teams that receive revenue-sharing funds are obligated to put that money toward improving the team on the field, something the players have questioned in the past -- even filing a grievance about it in 2018. That case has not yet been resolved, although MLB unsuccessfully sought to have it dismissed as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joc Pederson rips Guardians, Pirates, Orioles for low payrolls