SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Major League Baseball's move to slice two seconds off the pitch clock with runners on base is too much, too soon, according to players' association head Tony Clark.
The clock is shortening to 18 seconds from 20 with men on base and will stay at 15 seconds with no one on.
"That's a conversation that should have warranted a much longer dialogue than what we had," Clark said Saturday. "We voiced those concerns, players voiced those concerns, and yet, the push through of the change to the pitch clock still happened."
MLB introduced a new rules package last season — including a pitch clock and bigger bases — that cut average game times by 24 minutes to 2 hours, 40 minutes, the quickest games have been played since 1984. The clock, adopted over the objection of player representatives on the competition committee, was considered a huge success and the sport drew more than 70 million fans to ballparks for the first time since 2017.
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"We just had the biggest adjustment this league has ever seen in regards to length of game and how the game was affected, by including a clock," Clark said. "Rather than give us another year to adjust and adapt to it, why are we adjusting again, and what are the ramifications going to be?"
Clark's main concern is that pitchers have less time between pitches to recover, particularly when maximum effort and pitch velocity are so important.
"When fatigue happens, you're more susceptible to injury," Clark said. "We're seeing a lot of injuries and we're seeing them in a way that simply can't remove the question of whether or not shortening recovery time is in anyone's best interest."
Free agent market: There are several high-profile free agents who remain on the market, including two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, former MVP Cody Bellinger, six-time All-Star J.D. Martinez and four-time Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman.
"If teams want to improve, there are a lot of players across the spectrum who can help teams finish as the last team," Clark said.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said this month the league would prefer a free-agent signing period, ideally in December, that ended with a deadline. An MLB proposal in 2019 was dismissed by the union.
Clark, who from 1995 to 2009, prefers the flexibility of the current rules, which place no deadlines on reaching free-agent deals.
A's: The Oakland Athletics still don't know where they're playing after the 2024 season as the franchise prepares for a planned move to Las Vegas.
The A's have met with Oakland city officials about extending the club's lease beyond 2024, but nothing is certain. A new ballpark in Las Vegas is not expected to be ready until 2028.
Options included staying at the Coliseum, or playing in another city, like Sacramento of Salt Lake City.
2028 Olympics: Clark said many MLB players are excited about the prospect of playing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but that the "devil is in the proverbial details" when it comes to making it happen.
Burnes shines in spring debut
Corbin Burnes' first outing with his new team looked like an abbreviated version of a typical performance with his old one.
Burnes worked one scoreless inning for the Baltimore Orioles and struck out the first two batters he faced Saturday in the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner's Grapefruit League debut. The Orioles went on to defeat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on a walk-off homer from prospect Colton Cowser.
The Orioles acquired Burnes last month in a trade that sent left-hander DL Hall, infielder Joey Ortiz and a 2024 competitive balance pick to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Marlins: Tim Anderson is hoping his return to health and a fresh start with a new team can help him bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season.
The Miami Marlins finalized their one-year, $5 million deal with the former Chicago White Sox shortstop on Saturday.
Anderson, a two-time All-Star and 2019 AL batting champion, had hit over .300 in four consecutive seasons before batting just .245 last year. Anderson said dealing with a sprained medial collateral ligament took a toll on him.
Braves: After homering at a record rate last year, the Atlanta Braves opened their preseason schedule by going deep again.
Michael Harris led off the first inning of the Braves' Grapefruit League opener and homered on the first pitch from Tampa Bay's Nathan Wiles. The Braves went on to win 6-5.
The Braves homered 307 times during the regular season last year to tie the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the season record.
Blue Jays: Toronto pitcher Tim Mayza's fantasy football misfortune during the offseason led to a bit of embarrassment for him during the Blue Jays' game Saturday against Philadelphia.
The left-hander served as bat boy for the game while wearing a jersey that had "4-10" as his number as a punishment for his fantasy football failures. Mayza's fantasy team went 4-10.
Reds: Cincinnati agreed to minor league contracts with infielder Mike Ford and utilityman Tony Kemp.
Ford, 31, batted .228 with a .323 on-base percentage, 16 homers and 34 RBIs in 83 games with the Seattle Mariners last season. Kemp, 32, hit .209 with a .303 on-base percentage, five homers, 27 RBIs and 15 steals in 124 games with Oakland.
Mets: New York Mets right-hander Shintaro Fujinami left camp temporarily to return home to Japan to deal with a personal matter.
Fujinami, who turns 30 on April 12, went 7-8 with a 7.18 ERA in 57 relief appearances and seven starts with Oakland and Baltimore last season. He struck out 83 and walked 45 in 79 innings.
Padres: Utilityman Jurickson Profar and left-handed pitcher Wandy Peralta got to San Diego's camp Saturday after visa issues had delayed their arrivals.
Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters that Profar is ready to go. Shildt added Peralta will be brought along more slowly but should be available for the start of the season.
Tigers: Detroit second baseman Colt Keith had a two-run double and struck out twice in three at-bats in his first spring training game after the Tigers made an unusual bet on the 22-year-old last month.
Keith has no major league experience but signed a six-year contract that guarantees him $28,642,500.
Yankees: Spencer Jones, the New York Yankees first-round pick in the 2022 amateur draft, hit an estimated 470-foot pinch homer to right-center off Detroit's Mason Englert in his first spring training at-bat.
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound outfielder was 3 for 3 with four RBIs, and was hit by a pitch.
Murphy vs. Murphy: The Milwaukee Brewers' Cactus League opener with the San Diego Padres turned into a father-son affair. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy's son Kai hit a two-run double for the Padres in the seventh inning of the Brewers' 11-7 victory.
Milwaukee's Sal Frelick, who played exclusively in the outfield as a rookie last season, has been working on the infield this spring and played third base Saturday.
Early promise: Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio and Detroit's Colt Keith signed lucrative contracts in the offseason despite not having any major league experience.
Both prospects showed glimpses of their enormous potential Saturday.
Chourio, who signed an eight-year, $82 million deal, went 2 for 4, scored twice and drove in a run. Keith, who signed a six-year contract that guarantees him $28,642,500, had a two-run double in the Tigers' 22-10 loss to the New York Yankees. Both players also struck out twice.
Jones' long drive: Spencer Jones, the New York Yankees first-round pick in the 2022 amateur draft, hit an estimated 470-foot pinch homer to right-center off Detroit’s Mason Englert in his first spring training at-bat.
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound outfielder was 3 for 3 with four RBIs. He also was hit by a pitch.
