Free-agent players look to impress during scrimmage
Tyler Clippard wore a black jersey with a white players’ union logo and pitched hitless ball for two innings against amateurs in the green shirts of the East Japan Railway Company.
Even coming off the worst of his nine major league seasons, this is not how the 33-year-old right-hander envisioned spring training.
“We know that my year last year was a bad year, but at the end of the day how bad was it? And it wasn’t as bad as some that got significant contracts,” he said Tuesday after appearing in the first of two exhibition games for free agents scheduled for this week at the IMG Academy.
Thirty-eight players have attended the camp since workouts started Feb. 14. They wonder why they are on the outside while several teams have jettisoned veterans to fill a higher percentage of their roster spots with lower-salaried youth.
The players’ association filed a grievance Friday against the Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays, accusing the teams of failing to appropriately spend revenue-sharing money.
The free agents won 2-0 in five innings, allowing just one hit. Several scouts looked on from the small stands, which had three rows of blue seats and nine rows of metal bleachers.
Rangers: Two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum is deep in negotiations on a one-year contract, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions said.
Mariners: During a spring training that’s been filled with small nagging injuries, the Mariners believe they caught a fortunate break after Felix Hernandez took a line drive off his right arm.
Hernandez said Tuesday he is still very sore a day after a liner off the bat of the Chicago Cubs’ Victor Caratini hit Hernandez in the right forearm.
While it looked significant initially, X-rays were negative.
Hernandez was still unable to fully straighten his right arm when he arrived in the clubhouse Tuesday morning because of the swelling.
Astros: First baseman Yuli Gurriel has left spring training to return to Houston to have his left hand examined by the team doctor.
Gurriel was scratched from Monday’s game against the Marlins with what the team said was discomfort in his left wrist. Manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday the injury is actually to the hand, not the wrist.
White Sox: Prospect Jake Burger has a torn left Achilles tendon and will likely miss the season.
The 11th overall draft pick last June, Burger fell to the ground running out a grounder to third against Oakland on Monday.
Indians: Cleveland agreed to a minor league contract on Tuesday with popular free agent slugger Mike Napoli, whose powerful swing and clubhouse leadership were instrumental to the Indians reaching the World Series in 2016.