Baseball union opening camp for free agents

The baseball players union will open its own spring training camp for the first time since the end of the 1994-95 strike, inviting free agents to work out at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Union head Tony Clark said Thursday the camp will open Tuesday and workouts will start the following day under Bo Porter, the Houston Astros’ manager in 2013-14. The camp is scheduled to run through March 4 and the union has the option to extend the camp through the end of the month.

More than 100 players who exercised their right to become free agents are without final agreements. Teams start spring training workouts Wednesday.

Agent Scott Boras represents 15 free agents seeking jobs, a group that includes J.D. Martinez, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Jake Arrieta. His company has its own training facilities in Miami and Newport Beach, Calif., and he is not sure whether his clients will work out at his facilities or IMG.

“They certainly will have the option to use either,” he said.

The union sent an email to agents announcing the decision. The camp will be open to the players who became free agents under Article XXB of the sport’s collective bargaining agreement, the most prominent group on the market.

The location is a major leaguecalibre site with a trainer and strength and conditioning co-ordinator, the union said.

Personal trainers will not be allowed inside the facility. Players will be provided workout gear and the union is arranging liability insurance, travel and housing. Players will be given per diems. They are to bring their own bats and shoes. The players’ association paid $60,000 in 1995 to rent a site for three weeks in Florida. Twenty-nine players were there when it opened, including Dave Stewart, Todd Stottlemyre and Howard Johnson.