Clark questions value of tickets to tankers

Union head says teams trying to lose may not be worth price of watching

Players’ union head Tony Clark took the extraordinary step of saying baseball fans should question whether it makes sense to purchase tickets for some teams, responding to commissioner Rob Manfred’s assertion that free-agent players have failed to adjust their economic demands in a market upended by analytics.

Top free agents Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel remain unsigned with spring training underway, creating tension during negotiations on management’s proposals for a pitch clock and new limitations on relief pitchers. The union responded with a wider list of plans that include economic initiatives such as expanding the designated hitter to the National League and altering the amateur draft to make rebuilding less appealing.

“Markets change,” Manfred said Sunday. “We’ve had a lot of change in the game. People think about players differently. They analyze players differently. They negotiate differently.”

Clark led negotiations in 2016 for a five-year labor deal. Players have increasingly been outspoken about their unhappiness during a second straight slow free-agent market, one that has seen many veterans take significant pay cuts and others remain without deals.

“Players’ eyes don’t deceive them, nor do fans’,” Clark said in a statement Monday. “As players report to spring training and see respected veterans and valued teammates on the sidelines, they are rightfully frustrated by a two-year attack on free agency. Players commit to compete every pitch of every at-bat, and every inning of every game. Yet we’re operating in an environment in which an increasing number of clubs appear to be making little effort to improve their rosters, compete for a championship or justify the price of a ticket.”

Average attendance has dropped for three straight seasons and last year fell below 30,000 per game for the first time since 2003.

Mets: Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria and New York have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training. Hechavarria is a light hitter known for his defense. He gives New York a legitimate, established shortstop who could be a backup to young starter Amed Rosario. Even with a crowded infield, that’s something the Mets were lacking as they opened spring training. Hechavarria, who turns 30 in April, batted a combined .247 with six homers, 31 RBIS and a .624 OPS in 94 games last season for the Rays, Pirates and Yankees.

Giants: Bruce Bochy announced Monday this will be his last season managing San Francisco, his 25th in all as a big league manager. He told the team before Monday’s spring training workout at Scottsdale Stadium. “In my mind it’s time,” he said. Bochy, who turns 64 on April 16, had offseason hip replacement surgery that has him moving more swiftly and he insists “the health’s great” and didn’t factor into the choice.