Union's free-agent training camp to close Friday

Posted March 07, 2018 6:00 am

By BILL WHITEHEAD

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) - The spring training workout facility created for free agents by the players' association, will close Friday after three weeks.

Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark announced the decision Wednesday after meeting with New York Mets players as part of his tour of the 30 team camps.

With dozens of free agents unsigned as spring training began, the camp opened Feb. 13 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton and workouts started the next day. Forty-one players have attended, and Mike Napoli, Adam Lind, Tyler Clippard, Lucas Duda, Alejandro De Aza, Carlos Torres and Tommy Layne left after agreeing to contracts.

Neil Walker, Mark Reynolds, Omar Infante, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Chris Johnson are among those still seeking deals from among the group that reported.

Top free agents have continued to work out on their own, such as Mike Moustakas, Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn and Greg Holland.

Given the slow pace of free-agent signings during the offseason, Clark and players have questioned whether an increased number of teams are more focused on rebuilding than trying to win now.

"Players are questioning whether the best 750 are on the field, and fans are questioning whether or not they're seeing the best 750 on the field at any given time," Clark said. "That's not a conversation that any of us should want to have."

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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

FIEL - In this Feb. 19, 2017, file photo, Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Players Association, answers questions at a news conference in Phoenix. A proposal collapsed that would have put a runner on second base to start the 10th inning of spring training games, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because no statements were authorized. Management thinks the union backed off because players were upset Commissioner Rob Manfred described new pace-of-game rules that apply to the regular season as an agreement, the person said. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File) The Associated Press

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