Agent: Players outraged over free-agent slowdown
The free-agent market has stayed cool this hot stove season, and that has one prominent baseball agent saying players may be upset enough to think about a boycott in spring training.
In a long twitter post, agent Brodie Van Wagenen of Creative Artists Agency wrote, "the behavior of owners in this year's free-agent market has changed dramatically. It feels coordinated, rightly or wrongly."
Among the big-name free agents still on the market are sluggers J.D. Martinez - who hit 45 homers last year -- and Eric Hosmer, as well as front-line starting pitchers Jake Arrieta - the 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner -- and Yu Darvish.
Van Wagenen even invoked the strike year of 1994 as being the last time he may have seen player sentiment this roiled.
"There is a rising tide among players for radical change," he wrote. "A fight is brewing. And it may begin with one, maybe two, and perhaps 1,200 willing to follow. A boycott of spring training may be a starting point, if behavior doesn't change.
"Bottom line, the players are upset. No, they are outraged. Players in the midst of long-term contracts are as frustrated as those still seeking employment. Their voices are getting louder and they are uniting in a way not seen since 1994."
--Field Level Media