Former Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish is still a free agent, along with many other stars such as J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Jake Arrieta, and Mike Moustakas, among others. Players are angry, and the MLBPA believes that teams are threatening the integrity of the game, according to Tony Clark, the executive director of the player’s union. It’s led some to speculate about collusion amongst franchises.
As of February 6, only nine players had signed contracts of three years or longer, with most of them going to middle relievers. The tension has caused the MLBPA to go as far as to create a spring training for unsigned players.