Sources: MLBPA fires COO, human resources head with cause - ESPN

The Major League Baseball Players Association fired two top executives with cause Wednesday following an internal investigation players commissioned in the wake of a federal investigation into alleged financial improprieties at the union, sources told ESPN.

The firings of Xavier James, the union's chief operating officer, and Michael O'Neill, the head of human resources, follow the resignation of executive director Tony Clark in February. The Eastern District of New York last year launched an investigation into the union, focusing its inquiry on a number of the MLBPA's sprawling business interests, according to sources.

While the reasons for the firings were unclear, sources said Adam Braverman, the attorney conducting the internal investigation, delivered a report to the MLBPA on Wednesday covering recent findings. The union plans to share information with federal investigators, according to sources. Braverman was unavailable for comment. James did not return messages seeking comment, and O'Neill was unable to be reached for comment.

Longtime major leaguer Chris Capuano, who has worked at the union since 2019, will take over as the MLBPA's new COO. Ian Penny, a former general counsel at the union now serving as an adviser to executive director Bruce Meyer, was named interim chief HR officer.

The upheaval at the union comes during a seminal time. The current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and Major League Baseball owners plan in bargaining to pursue a salary cap, a system the union vehemently opposes. If a deal is not struck by the expiration — a prospect sources said is doubtful — MLB likely will lock out the players, as they did in 2021 before an 11th-hour deal in March 2022 salvaged the season.

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