Marlins’ Pete Fairbanks talks MLBPA’s next steps after Tony Clark resignation
New Miami Marlins reliever Pete Fairbanks had a busy Tuesday — and likely will have some more busy days to come in the near future.
In addition to getting ready for the start of the season, Fairbanks is one of eight players on the Major League Baseball Players Association’s executive subcommittee tasked with sorting through a mess at the top of its organization after executive director Tony Clark resigned on Tuesday.
The resignation, first reported by The Athletic, came after an internal review revealed Clark, who has held his role since 2013, was having an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who was hired by the union in 2023, according to ESPN.
The MLBPA said in a statement Tuesday night announcing Clark’s resignation that the association’s executive board met Tuesday afternoon with staff and outside counsel to “discuss next steps.”
“As always, the Players remain focused on their ongoing preparations for collective bargaining this year. The strength of this union is — and will always be — the solidarity of our membership. We have a long history of fighting for the rights of every Player, and we’re committed to making sure we can continue that fight successfully.”
Fairbanks on Wednesday said he and other members of the executive subcommittee — a group that includes the New York Mets’ Marcus Semien, Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Bassitt, San Diego Padres’ Jake Cronenworth, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes, Los Angeles Angels’ Brent Suter, Tampa Bay Rays’ Cedric Mullins and Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal — had been on “a lot of Zooms” since Tuesday.
“Making sure everybody from the top down is informed,” Fairbanks said, “and we can make sure that everybody in our player base is understanding of the situation and on the same page as we start to move forward.”
An interim director has not yet been named as of late Wednesday morning, although Fairbanks said the hope was for that to be finalized as early as the end of the day Wednesday.
“I think that that’s something that is necessary to prevent any sort of power vacuum where people are like a hive without the queen bee or whatever that analogy is,” Fairbanks said. “I think as a whole, everybody’s on the same page with that, and once we figure that out, then we take whatever step comes next.”
The timing of Clark’s resignation, which also came amid a wide-ranging (and still active) federal investigation into the MLBPA’s finances, comes at an important juncture for the union. The current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players’ association expires on Dec. 1. League owners intend to bargain for a salary cap, a stipulation that could lead to the owners locking out the players and putting the 2027 season in jeopardy if no deal can be reached.
“I think we’ve got meetings all across spring,” Fairbanks said, “and we’ll make sure that everybody is informed of the situation and on the same page with our recommendations as to what we would like to see happen. Hopefully that is amenable to all, and we’re able to, in accordance with our constitution and bylaws, get that to a vote, get that approved and move forward.”
“Information runs downhill, right?” Fairbanks added. “Much like flowing water. So we’re gonna get it from the top down, and disseminate it to our guys and give them the updates that they need. And then we’ll, once they’re apprised, we’ll go back and get it taken care of.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 1:55 PM.
.JPG)