TAMPA — As the MLB Players Association undergoes a change in leadership at a critical time, the players are doubling down on the strength of the union.

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Austin Wells, the Yankees player rep, held a meeting with teammates Wednesday morning to voice that message and address the fallout of the sudden resignation Tuesday by executive director Tony Clark. 

By Wednesday night, the 30 player reps and executive subcommittee had elected a new leader in Bruce Meyer, promoting the union’s lead negotiator into the top role to replace Clark.

“It’s a message of strength,” Wells said Wednesday morning at Steinbrenner Field. “We’re just as strong as we were Friday versus today.

“I think we have a lot of confidence in our executive subcommittee, who did a great job handling all this. They were very informative [Tuesday] in the meeting that we had. [They] explained what was happening to us, and they did a great job handling it. It’s not an easy situation. So on the players’ side of things, we have a lot of confidence in that.”

Wells was on a call Tuesday with all 30 player reps and the executive subcommittee, in which they opted not to immediately vote on a replacement for Clark, who stepped down in the wake of an internal investigation that found he had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who was hired by the MLBPA in 2023.

After player reps had a chance to talk through things with their respective teams Wednesday, they got back on another call to elect Meyer.

“[Clark’s resignation] came as a little bit of a surprise,” Wells said. “It’s unfortunate, but I think we’re moving in a good direction.”

Wells had been an alternate rep the past two seasons while reliever Scott Effross served as the Yankees player rep.

But with Effross now in the Tigers organization — after the Yankees non-tendered him in November — Wells has stepped into the main role at an interesting time.

“It’s an exciting opportunity, especially this year, coming into probably the biggest negotiation we’re going to have, at least in my short career,” Wells said. “I’m looking forward to that opportunity and just being able to help represent our team.

“We have a ton of guys with experience in here, which has helped a lot.”


Gerrit Cole, for example, was previously on the executive subcommittee, a tenure that coincided with the lockout during the 2021-22 offseason.

There is growing fear around the game that another, potentially lengthier, lockout is coming next winter when the current CBA expires Dec. 1.

“We don’t want that,” Wells said. “We hope we can get a deal done to have a normal season next year, but we’re prepared to do what we have to.”