NORTH PORT, Fla. — Even if Rob Manfred had never offered Astros players immunity, Major League Baseball had little chance of successfully disciplining them.



Despite widespread calls for league action, the commissioner cannot wake up one day and decide which behavior to punish and how. Not without a major fight that he would likely lose anyway. The players’ union guards against such action.



Any potential punishments to Astros players would have prompted grievances and wound up before an arbitrator. And in the words of an official with knowledge of these matters, MLB would have been “smoked.” Another person experienced in this area said that MLB’s case would have been “brutal” and the league would “look a fool.”



The reason? In labor relations, the concept of giving notice is hugely important. Management must clearly lay out how the workplace is to be run. That means providing both notice of the rules...