Major League Baseball is investigating whether the New York Mets and New York Yankees violated the collective bargaining agreement after a story explaining the Mets' hesitancy to pursue Yankees star free agent Aaron Judge prompted the MLB Players Association to request an inquiry.
Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the investigation Thursday after The Athletic first reported on it Wednesday night.
The investigation, sources confirmed, centers on a paragraph in a story on the website of the Mets' television station, SNY, which discusses the "mutually respectful relationship" between Mets owner Steve Cohen and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and how they "do not expect to upend that with a high-profile bidding war" for Judge.