More than 120 MLB free agents remain unsigned, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the slow market was a function of natural market factors and not some sort of intentional rebuffing of players. He said, “Every market is different. There’s different players, different quality of players, different GMs, different decisions, a new basic agreement, different agents who had a particular prominence in a particular market of who they represent. Those factors ... have combined to produced a particular market this year. Just like there’s been some markets where the lid got blown off in terms of player salary growth, occasionally you’re going to to have some that are not quite as robust" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). In K.C., Rustin Dodd noted theories and possible explanations for the lack of activity "range in scope and creativity," and "perhaps none is sufficient." Dodd: "Maybe a cohort of data-driven executives are pushing back against expensive, long-term contracts that are fully guaranteed and rarely worth it. Maybe this class of free agents has been foiled by a market in which the usual big spenders have few needs and holes. Where some see the possibility of indirect collusion, others see an outlier winter." Royals LF Alex Gordon said, "It’s been kind of crazy how the free agency has gone. I don’t think anybody expected this” (KANSASCITY.com, 2/1).
NOT WORRIED ABOUT TANKING: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes "nearly one-third of the 30 teams this year are rebuilding, and have no interest in the free-agent market, but Manfred dispels the idea that teams are losing on purpose to gain one of the top draft picks." Manfred: "It is unrealistic to think that everyone is going to have the exact same expectation to win on the exact same time table. By definition, they have to be at different points in the process of developing the most competitive club possible" (USA TODAY, 2/2). In L.A., Bill Shaikin notes Spring Training opens in less than two weeks, but "hope and faith is dead all across America." The Braves, Orioles, Marlins, Pirates and Rays all have "yet to sign a major league free agent." Teams a decade ago would "sign a veteran stopgap or two and proclaim they would be competitive, if not contending." Now, there is "no shame in losing 100 games, in the name of tanking for better draft picks and a bigger signing pool for Latin American teenagers" (L.A. TIMES, 2/2).
