WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Even on a day when Commissioner Rob Manfred broke a bit of news — spring training games will soon begin in Florida and Arizona with a 20-second pitch clock, as a possible precursor to implementing the pace-saving devices in the regular season — he could not escape the predominant storyline of Major League Baseball’s offseason: the continued unemployment of some of the sport’s highest-profile free agents with the first exhibition games just days away.
A 25-minute question-and-answer session with reporters Sunday, in which Manfred revealed the long-expected plans for the pitch clock, was dominated by economic issues.