Bryce Harper, Manny Machado are clearly toeing party line with comments on Dodgers spending

The MLB Players Association has seen better days. On Tuesday, Jeff Passan reported that longtime executive director Tony Clark was expected to resign, and it didn't take long for him to expound upon why: an internal investigation revealed that Clark had an "inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law," who is also a union employee.

The MLBPA moved quickly to unanimously elect Bruce Meyer, their chief negotiator, as their new executive director, and Meyer will stay at the head of Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations in December alongside fulfilling the duties of his new role.

Players were quick to weigh in. Will Smith, the Dodgers' union representative, said the move was "obviously surprising" and "probably not the best timing."

That's an understatement. With CBA negotiations looming over the entire season and widespread belief that owners will once again push for a salary cap, the MLBPA experiencing a breakdown at the very top won't help them when they have to come to the table.

Chris Bassitt, and member of the executive subcommittee made up of eight players, offered a long statement on the union's position on a salary cap after Clark's resignation, which basically all boiled down to: the union will fight tooth and nail against a cap.

And players are unified in this. Even if the game manages to avoid a lockout, the Dodgers have been and will continue to be at the center of the discussion. But players like Bassitt and even Manny Machado and Bryce Harper have no qualms with how the Dodgers are operating.

Players are unified on their position against a salary cap despite MLB Players Association shakeups

Machado said, "I f—ing love it. I love it. I mean, honestly, I think every team should be doing it. They have figured out a way to do it. It's f—ing great for the game. Every team has the ability to do it, so I hope all 30 teams could learn from that."

From Harper: "I love what the Dodgers do, obviously. They pay the money, they spend the money. I mean, they're a great team. They understand how to run it. They run their team like a business, and they run it the right way. They understand where they need to put their money into."

Harper established his position last year, when he said that anyone complaining about what the Dodgers are doing are losers, but Machado's support makes it clear that the one thing that transcends team rivalries: the players' belief that they should continue to be paid what they're worth with no restrictions.

It wouldn't be totally surprising if an all-MLBPA email instructing players to maintain this stance was leaked one day ... not that they need instructing, really. The union isn't going to move on this, and it could lead to the longest work stoppage in the game since 1994.