Tanking teams, falling attendance worry players

NEW YORK — Baseball players are concerned the Seattle Mariners have become yet another rebuilding team and may be joined by others following a season of steep attendance drops among clubs that faded early and never contended for the playoffs.

Union head Tony Clark and new collective bargaining director Bruce Meyer said Wednesday their members also are concerned about rapid change in the way games are played, such as the increased use of relief pitchers, and are willing to speak with management this offseason about whether changes are needed.

Altering the amateur draft to include an NBA-style lottery for the top picks, the 10-day disabled list and the 10-day minimum for the recall of players optioned to the minors are among the topics the union is prepared to talk about. So are possible rules to counter offense-suffocating defensive shifts.

And the union maintains its agreement is necessary for any changes in anti-gambling rules in the wake of widespread legal betting.

But Seattle’s decision to trade Robinson Cano, James Paxton, Jean Segura and Edwin Diaz raised concern among players already angered by Baltimore, the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati, Detroit, Kansas City, Miami and Pittsburgh jettisoning veterans.

“We have seen some things that are eerily similar to last offseason,” Clark said. “One of the concerns in general has to do with the level of competition or interest in competition across the teams in general.”