BRADENTON, Fla. — Players’ union head Tony Clark did not discuss specifics of the grievance the Major League Baseball Players’ Association filed against the Pirates and three other teams, but did say, “We don’t file a grievance if we don’t have a concern.”
The MLBPA executive director visited Pirates camp Thursday, two days after news of the grievance regarding alleged misuse of revenue-sharing funds by the Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins became public. The grievance was the latest salvo in the escalating conflict between the union and the commissioner’s office, which also includes concerns about a slow free-agent market that has Jake Arrieta, Mike Moustakas, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn still without a job and rules imposed by commissioner Rob Manfred aimed at increasing the pace of the game.