{"id":58896,"date":"2018-02-15T07:06:40","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T07:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=58896"},"modified":"2018-02-15T07:06:40","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T07:06:40","slug":"for-free-agents-at-mlbs-camp-jobless-its-not-about-money-just-an-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/for-free-agents-at-mlbs-camp-jobless-its-not-about-money-just-an-opportunity.html","title":{"rendered":"For free agents at MLB’s Camp Jobless, it’s ‘not about money. Just an opportunity’"},"content":{"rendered":"

For free agents at MLB’s Camp Jobless, it’s ‘not about money. Just an opportunity’<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s the other spring-training camp, the one with players wearing black T-shirts and shorts instead of team uniforms, no fans in the stands, no autograph seekers, no media, not even a peanut vendor in sight.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Camp Jobless, the players are calling it, the loneliest place in baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, on the pristine, 450-acre IMG campus in Bradenton, is where 20 professional baseball players congregated Wednesday morning, behind guarded gates, behind security officials stretched around the compound, and perhaps more important, before precious few probing eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where nobody wants to be, and the Major League Baseball Players Association doesn\u2019t want you to see them. They closed their spring site to the media, agents and even baseball executives, with one American League special assistant to the general manager kicked off the property.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where you\u2019ll find veteran relievers Tyler Clippard and Tom Gorzelanny, who have combined for 23 years in the big leagues, still looking for work. This is where veteran catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who has played for seven major league teams, and won a World Series title with the 2013 Boston Red Sox, is still seeking employment. This is where veteran outfielders Nolan Reimold and Alejandro de Aza were hitting and playing catch, with veteran infielder Chris Johnson and 11-year pitcher Donovan Hand here, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so grateful for the opportunity to be here,\u2019\u2019 Hand told USA TODAY Sports in the lobby of the players\u2019 hotel near the Sarasota airport. \u201cBut at the same time, nobody wants to be here. Nobody. We all want to be with affiliated teams.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of guys don\u2019t understand what is happening, and really, wonder if we\u2019ll ever know.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGuys are very confused right now.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Tony Clark, executive director of the union, flew into town to meet with the players Wednesday morning, talking to many of them individually, trying to calm their fears and frustration. It\u2019s the first camp the union has staged since the spring of 1995 after the work stoppage, and Clark hopes this doesn\u2019t become an annual affair, with about 80 free agents still unsigned.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe response was positive despite the circumstances,\u2019\u2019 Clark said. \u201cI believe their state of mind comes from their knowledge that they can still play, and can help a team win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The players who spoke to USA TODAY Sports indeed were grateful for Clark\u2019s appearance. Clark let them know they were free to talk to the media, and express their feelings, but to try to keep the uncertainty from becoming a needless burden.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTony told us there\u2019s going to be a lot of distractions,\u2019\u2019 said Hand, who drove 10 hours in his pick-up truck from his Red Bay, Ala., home. \u201cHe told us, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about that. You seize the opportunity. We want you to be ready when teams call.\u2019 \u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, with a closed camp, there was a mixed message sent Wednesday between the 9:15 a.m. start time and its noon conclusion. The American League executive was escorted out, leaving another high-ranking team executive miffed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy they wouldn\u2019t want teams to lay eyes on them,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bo Porter, the former Houston Astros manager and Atlanta Braves executive who\u2019s running the camp, called it a simple misunderstanding. This isn\u2019t a tryout camp, he said. It\u2019s a camp for players to be ready for the regular season. If a team wants to see a specific player in a workout, all they have to do is call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI made this point to the players,\u2019\u2019 Porter said, \u201cwe will not stop a team that wants to specifically look at a player. If you\u2019re coming for a purpose, and are going to help the process of having one of these guys signed, then that wish will be accommodated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While there were more star coaches on the field than players on the camp\u2019s first day, with the likes of Tom Gordon, Chris Chambliss, Brian Jordan and Dmitri Young lending their expertise, the union is expecting more players to start arriving within a week. Sure, maybe not the stars like Jake Arrieta, Eric Hosmer and J.D. Martinez, who are expected to sign contracts worth more than $100 million, but others who simply aren\u2019t getting any offers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already had 10 guys text me asking how it is,\u2019\u2019 said Hand, who left his wife, 3-year-old, and 5-month-old twins back home. \u201cI would think more guys would start coming when they hear about it. …<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTeams used to call during the winter and offer a minor-league contract with a major-league invite.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, nothing. No one\u2019s even offered a timeline when something might happen. So, what\u2019s changed?\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Hand, 31, who pitched last season for the New York Mets\u2019 minor-league affiliates at Class AA Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas, realizes that fans won\u2019t have sympathy for players still seeking deals worth $200 million or eight-year contracts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, how about the guys who simply want an opportunity to keep playing, allowing teams to evaluate their performance during the spring, instead of simply giving up on them without a phone call?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the guys here like myself just want a chance to play baseball,\u2019\u2019 Hand said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about money. Just an opportunity. …<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/columnist\/bob-nightengale\/2018\/02\/14\/mlb-camp-unsigned-free-agents-bradenton\/339158002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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