A big-league manager who shall remain nameless once said he wouldn’t lie to the media, but he didn’t always tell the whole truth. The manager wasn’t Ned Yost, but that’s a common attitude among people in the big leagues.
Lying can get you in trouble, but there’s no rule that says you have to reveal everything you know. That being the case, sometimes you have to read between the lines of what is said, and it helps if you have a good idea what the subject is referring to but not saying out loud.
Players know they have to pay lip service to winning and putting the team first, but also know they have to put up individual numbers to survive.