FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
By DAVID BRANDT and RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writers
PHOENIX (AP) — National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes was elected to the players’ association eight-man executive subcommittee on Wednesday just six months after his big league debut as three players were dropped who had advocated for the ouster of union deputy executive director Bruce Meyer.
Jack Flaherty, Ian Happ and Lucas Giolito were dropped along with Francisco Lindor, Lance McCullers Jr. and Austin Slater.
Flaherty, Giolito and Happ were among the players who in March advocated for the ouster of Meyer, the union’s chief labor negotiator. The effort, led by former union lawyer Harry Marino, proved unsuccessful.
Union head Tony Clark vowed to keep deliberations internal this summer.
Also new to the committee are American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of Detroit, Toronto pitcher Chris Bassitt, San Diego infielder Jake Cronenworth, Tampa Bay pitcher Pete Fairbanks and Baltimore outfielder Cedric Mullins.
Texas infielder Marcus Semien and Cincinnati pitcher Brent Suter remain on the committee, with Semien the only holdover from the 2021-22 lockout.
The eight, all born in the U.S., were elected by representatives of the 30 big league teams, the Major League Baseball Players Association said. The two-year terms run through start of bargaining for a labor contract to replace the five-year deal that expires in December 2026.
The 22-year-old Skenes debuted on May 11 and went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft out of LSU started the All-Star Game about two months after his promotion.
Semien is the longest-serving member, having held a spot since December 2020. Suter was elected in 2022.
Bassitt and Semien are association representatives, Cronenworth and Skenes alternate associations representatives, Fairbanks and Suter pension committee representatives, and Mullins and Skubal alternate pension committee representatives.
Baltimore pitcher Ryan Long, New York Yankees pitcher Adam Stone and Athletics first baseman Danny Bautista Jr. were elected to fill the remaining year of two-year terms leading the representation of players with minor league contracts. They join Chicago Cubs catcher William Simoneit, who was elected to a two-year term in November 2023.
Long and Simoneit are association representatives, and Bautista and Stone alternate association representatives. Bautista’s father, Danny, was a big league outfielder from 1993-2004.
The union is having its annual series of meetings in Scottsdale this week.
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Blum reported from New York.
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