Owners consider speed-up changes

For those rooting for baseball to speed up the game, commissioner Rob Manfred says to have patience.

Owners and players ratified a new collective bargaining agreement in December, but they’re still negotiating innovations designed to improve the pace of play. Owners discussed the issue during two days of meetings that concluded yesterday in Palm Beach, Fla.

“We did review some rule changes largely related to pace of game that are being discussed with the Players Association,” Manfred said. “More to follow when those negotiations are complete.”

Manfred has pushed for faster games since he became commissioner two years ago. But the average time of a nine-inning game last season was 3 hours, a 4-minute increase over 2015. One playoff game took more than 41⁄ hours.

The new CBA, which extends labor peace to 26 years through 2021, addresses issues such as smokeless tobacco and World Series home-field advantage but not on-field rules.

“Given the really serious big economic issues on the table, I think it’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to get an agreement (regarding pace of play) when you’re doing the overall agreement,” Manfred said. “As is the usual course in the offseason, we’re turning to the playing rule issues now.”

Management would like to tighten restrictions on trips to the mound and introduce a pitch clock, which has been used in Triple-A and DoubleA the past two seasons.

Herrera, KC agree

The Kansas City Royals and closer Kelvin Herrera agreed to a $5,325,000, oneyear contract, avoiding arbitration with one of the top relievers in baseball.

Herrera can also earn $50,000 for making the AllStar Game, which he has done the past two seasons.

The 27-year-old righthander is assuming the closer job after the Royals traded Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs this offseason.

Miller loses another

The Arizona Diamondbacks won their salary arbitration case against pitcher Shelby Miller, who will be paid $4.7 million this year instead of his $5.1 million request.

A 26-year-old righthander, Miller went 3-12 with a 6.15 ERA in 20 starts last year and made $4.35 million.