MESA and GLENDALE, Ariz. — Chicago Cubs and White Sox players still were processing MLB Players Association leader Tony Clark’s abrupt decision to resign from his position Tuesday morning.
Word started circulating among players when the news broke that Clark, 53, is stepping down less than 10 months before Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Clark was scheduled to begin the MLBPA’s annual spring meetings with each team’s players Tuesday, starting with the Cleveland Guardians in the morning and the White Sox in the afternoon. However, the union canceled those plans. The meeting with the Cubs was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
A union call with all 30 player representatives and MLBPA executive board leadership was expected Tuesday afternoon. Second baseman Nico Hoerner, in his second season as the Cubs player rep, was unsure what the next steps would entail to replace Clark, the union’s executive director since November 2013.
“I think after we talk today we’ll have a better sense of that,” Hoerner said. “In general, our union is so strong through the strength in numbers and a lot of experience from the entire group, and our confidence is really high.
“The great part about our union is the unity of it. So that’ll be a nice opportunity for everyone to get on the same page and move forward.”
Clark’s resignation coincides with the U.S. Attorney in New York investigating One Team Partners, a licensing company founded in 2019 by the MLBPA, the NFL Players Association and RedBird Capital Partners. The federal investigation has been looking into financial impropriety, specifically whether MLBPA officials used licensing money or equity to improperly enrich themselves. Clark is one of three MLBPA officials on One Team Partners’ leadership board.
“We’ll figure out when the details come out if that was the case,” Cubs left fielder Ian Happ said of the investigation’s role in Clark’s resignation. “Right now I don’t have any information to speculate.”
Happ, the Cubs’ former union rep, found out about Clark’s resignation when he saw a social media post reporting it Tuesday morning.
“I don’t know that it’s ideal,” he said, “but I would say that for the most part the strength of the union is in the players, and the players ultimately are the ones that dictate the direction that any negotiation or any talk is going to go. And so that doesn’t change.”
White Sox pitcher Davis Martin recalled “great conversations” in the past with Clark.
“He unified players really well,” Martin said. “Player unity is the strength of our union, and that’s not changing with whoever is at the top of it.”
Martin is part of a group effort representing the Sox in the union.
“(Outfielder) Austin Slater was our guy, and when Slater got traded (last year), (pitcher) Steven Wilson took over the role,” Martin said. “Then when Steven Wilson got traded (during the offseason), he passed it down to me, (pitcher Chris) Murphy and a couple of others, so we kind of shared the load a little bit.
“It is funny just the realization of how old I am getting and where we’re at. Usually I wasn’t anywhere near these conversations and now we’re in the thick of it. It’s really cool.”
White Sox pitcher Davis Martin warms up with a football during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Like Martin, Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi still was digesting the news Tuesday morning.
“What’s important is that I think all the players are in unison, as we always have been,” Benintendi said. “We’ll be in discussions in the next day or two.”
Unity was the theme in the Sox clubhouse.
“Ever since I’ve been in the league and been a part of this, there’s never been a question whether the players are together or not because it’s a brotherhood,” Benintendi said. “The connection for the players, the relationships we build with guys on other teams and through discussions, we’re always going to be together no matter what.”
Those ties, Martin said, are built in a variety of ways.
“You’re talking guys who have played together, guys who have played against each other for years, all the way through the minor leagues, all the way through the major leagues,” Martin said. “You get to play with guys and those relationships never change. I can call (former White Sox teammate and current Boston Red Sox pitcher) Garrett Crochet right now and we can have a conversation.
“Unity across the board is our strength. It’s always been our strength, and baseball players in a nutshell are always cut from similar cloth, regardless of country, origin, in general. That’s our perspective.”
Regardless of the timing of Clark’s decision, Martin said, “Player unity, we’re in the same spot.”
“We know what we want, we know where we’re at as a player organization across the board,” he said. “Player reps are going to meet today and get the next steps, and we’re ready to go.”
Veteran Cubs right-hander and former union rep Jameson Taillon echoed the sentiment that the union’s strength doesn’t come from one person but rather the totality of the players.
“It’s always been about that,” Taillon said. “So I don’t know a ton, but I’ll definitely harp on that, that going into a CBA year, it’s all about the players and all about us communicating what we want and need. And I’m confident we’ll find someone good to lead us.”
Taillon expressed confidence in the union’s eight-player executive subcommittee, which includes Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
“We’ve done a good job of beefing up the entire organization,” Taillon said. “So obviously this is not ideal, but we’ve got a lot of great people, a lot of smart guys, a lot of very involved players. And hopefully this kind of wakes up players to understand what’s going on and why this is a big year and why this matters.”
Associated Press contributed.