At long last, spring training has arrived. Pitchers and catchers begin reporting to spring camps across Arizona and Florida this week, and, late next week, Cactus League and Grapefruit League play will begin. Here are each team's reporting dates. The arrival of spring training is quite anticlimactic. On one hand, the new season has arrived, which is always awesome. On the other hand, not much happens the first 10 days or so. Players report, take their physical, spend a few days throwing bullpen sessions or taking batting practice, and reporters tweet out grainy photos. To wit: Hey, I'm not knocking it. Give me all the grainy spring training photos you can find. They're certainly better than not looking at live-ish baseball photos, you know? Point is, the start of spring training is exciting, though not a whole lot happens until a week or two into camp. Once the exhibition season begins, that's when it gets really fun. Now that spring training week has arrived, let's break down the biggest storylines leading into camp and the things we're more looking forward to seeing in the coming weeks. Opening Day is still more than six weeks away, but baseball has finally returned. Seriously, when will Harper and Machado sign? We kind of have to start here, right? Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are two of the very best players in baseball and they're both only 26 years old. As good as they've been thus far in their careers, the case can be made their best years are still yet to come. And yet, Harper and Machado remain unsigned as camp is about to begin. It is a shame. It's not just Harper and Machado either. Former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel remains unsigned. So does Craig Kimbrel, arguably the best closer of his generation, and Marwin Gonzalez, a 29-year-old switch-hitter who can play pretty much anywhere. I don't get it. Can't every team use someone like Marwin? Why is he still unemployed? Free agents felt the squeeze last offseason as well. In fact, the five largest free-agent contracts handed out last winter were signed either after spring training camps opened, or in the days leading up to pitchers and catchers reporting. The list: You don't have to worry about Harper or Machado, or Keuchel and Kimbrel either. Those guys will get paid handsomely at some point. It's the free agent middle class that really feels the squeeze now. Guys like Martin Maldonado and Adam Jones, Adam Warren and Josh Harrison, Jose Iglesias and Gio Gonzalez. They'll likely have to settle for small one-year contracts and start spring training late, which puts them behind the 8-ball. With Machado and Harper, it's a giant game of chicken. Everyone is waiting for the other side to blink. Teams are waiting for the players to cave during contract talks and vice versa. Also, Machado wants Harper to sign first and vice versa. They want the other to set the market, and also to sign and make they become the undisputed best available free agent. Let's say Harper signs with the Giants. How desperate does that make the Phillies for Machado? Exactly. My guess -- and this is just a guess -- is Keuchel will be the next big-name free agent to sign and it'll happen at some point within the next 10 days. The Braves and Twins strike me as the best fits. Among the unsigned big-name free agents, I think Harper is by far the most likely to remain unsigned on Opening Day. I don't think it'll happen -- I expect him to sign at some point in spring training -- but, if anyone is going to hold out that long, I think it'll be Bryce. Just a hunch. New faces in new places Even with the top of the free-agent market currently frozen, there are still several big-name players entering their first spring with their new teams. There's Paul Goldschmidt with the Cardinals, Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz with the Mets, Patrick Corbin with the Nationals, Josh Donaldson with the Braves, Andrew McCutchen and J.T. Realmuto (and Jean Segura) with the Phillies, so on and so forth. Remember all the hoopla surrounding Giancarlo Stanton's first spring camp with the Yankees? Then he did this ... ... and that was pretty cool. For the players, spring is about preparation for the season, first and foremost. It's also a chance to meet and build relationships with their new teammates and coaching staff after changing teams. For fans, spring training is a time for optimism, and seeing that big offseason pickup wear your favorite team's uniform for the first time can be thrilling. The Phillies have three new lineup regulars! The Cardinals and Mets have new middle of the order All-Stars! The Reds have almost a completely new rotation and outfield! That shiny new toy feeling is very real in February and March. Seeing players with their new teams is one of the best things about spring training. Big-name players returning from injury We already know Angels ace-slash-slugger Shohei Ohtani will not be ready for Opening Day. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery, though the expectation is he will play as a DH at some point in 2019. Just not for the season-opener. We'll have to wait a few more weeks to see the super fun Ohtani on the field. There are, however, several big name players around the league returning from serious injuries that will be ready for Opening Day. Among them: Yu Darvish, Cubs: Elbow trouble that eventually required surgery ended his 2018 season in May. Elbow trouble that eventually required surgery ended his 2018 season in May. Jimmy Nelson, Brewers: Out since having shoulder surgery in September 2017. Out since having shoulder surgery in September 2017. Buster Posey, Giants: Returning from hip surgery last August. Returning from hip surgery last August. Trevor Rosenthal, Nationals: Out since having Tommy John surgery in August 2017. Out since having Tommy John surgery in August 2017. Corey Seager, Dodgers: Had Tommy John surgery last May. Had Tommy John surgery last May. Troy Tulowitzki, Yankees: Hasn't played since July 2017 due to ankle trouble and heel surgery. That list of injuries above is not complete, of course. Guys like Kris Bryant (shoulder) and Carlos Correa (back) played hurt last season and were obviously compromised. They should be healthy now. Jose Altuve (knee) and Gary Sanchez (shoulder) played hurt late last year and had offseason surgery, and will return to the field in spring training. Spring training will be the first time many players step on a field following their injuries. Let's not forget Danny Farquhar either. Farquhar collapsed in the dugout last April while with the White Sox and had to be rushed to the hospital to receive treatment for life-threatening hemorrhage caused by a ruptured brain aneurysm. He missed the rest of the season but has made a full recovery, and will be in camp with the Yankees as a non-roster invitee this spring. Every baseball fan should be rooting for him. Position battles aplenty Generally speaking, spring training performance is meaningless. Last spring Mariners first baseman Daniel Vogelbach led all players in home runs (seven), batting average (.407), on-base percentage (.529), and slugging percentage (.926). He then spent most of the regular season in Triple-A and hit .207/.324/.368 in 102 underwhelming big-league plate appearances. Spring performance is meaningless because the competition is so uneven. A hitter could face a Cy Young candidate in his first at-bat and a Single-A pitcher in his second. Veterans will often work on something specific during spring games rather than chase results. I've been doing this a long time and I still fall into the trap of overreacting to spring performance, believe me, but the numbers in February and March have little predictive value. That said, spring training is much more important for some players than others. It's basically impossible to win that final bench or bullpen spot without a good camp. Many roster spots across the league will be up for grabs this spring, as always. Here are some notable spring training position battles for contending teams:<doc-sep>0 of 30 Andy Hayt/Getty Images With spring training officially underway, it's time for an updated look at the MLB prospect landscape. A handful of trades have taken place since we last updated our farm system rankings shortly after the new year—most notably the J.T. Realmuto blockbuster. We'll likely update and tweak these rankings again before Opening Day, but the following will serve as a baseline as spring training begins. The factors below helped determine the rankings of players and teams:<doc-sep>5 of 15 Maddie Meyer/Getty Images Knobler: Adam Jones He shouldn't be, because he could help a lot of teams. But the numbers haven't been working in his favor. Miller: Adam Jones That we're on the eve of spring training and Jones remains unsigned is embarrassing. He's just 33 and, granted, may be past his prime, but he still has plenty to offer. Here's a guy with playoff experience, a guy who starred for Team USA's first championship in the World Baseball Classic, a terrific African American role model in a game with dwindling African American numbers—he checks every box. Reuter: Tyler Clippard Foolishly perhaps, I think one of several outfielder-needy teams will come to its senses and sign Adam Jones before the season starts. So we'll go with Clippard—a once-great, still-good reliever who has generated little buzz in a reliever market that's been picked clean behind Craig Kimbrel. The 33-year-old had a 3.67 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings with seven saves and 15 holds in 73 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last season. He's likely holding out for an MLB deal, and that could extend things. Rymer: Adam Jones He's about as good a veteran presence as any team could ask for. Trouble is, it's awfully hard to ignore his poor defensive metrics and offensive struggles. Shafer: Adam Jones Bryce Harper has stalled the outfielder market, and Jones is the prototype of a player looking to get paid for what he has done and not what he will do.<doc-sep>
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred refuses to believe his game is broken merely because a gaggle of the sport's greatest stars remain unemployed as spring training camps kick into overdrive. After all, he represents the game’s owners, who for the first time in decades are succeeding greatly at keeping player costs flat, even as players chafe, agents fume and some fans wonder why their team has no interest in Bryce Harper, Manny Machado or any number of available luminaries. Yet, even the man who in November received a contract extension from his 30 bosses through 2024 has his limits. “I hate the negativity that surrounds the coverage of the game right now,” Manfred said Sunday at a media event on the eve of many full squads reporting for camps. “Probably the best antidote for that is to get out there and start playing the game. I think once we get out and start playing the game, the glow of positivity will reemerge.” But fans looking for the familiar may be further unsettled once Grapefruit and Cactus league games get underway next week. Manfred announced that a 20-second pitch clock will be ready to roll for spring training games, as MLB “will get ready for the possibility of seeing a pitch clock by opening day," he said. “The only prudent course for us is to be in a position to proceed — hopefully under our collectively bargained conditions.” Indeed, Manfred hopes to hammer out an agreement with MLB Players’ Association executive director Tony Clark on a pitch clock, rather than unilaterally implement it, as is his right per the CBA. But the clock is just one line item in a brewing labor showdown that began with last winter’s freezeout of veteran players and continued this offseason as Harper and Machado — both in their prime, at 26, and both still MVP-caliber talents — remain available. The chorus of elite players ripping a mode of compensation that has flattened their pay even as industry revenues top $10 billion has been loud all winter, first on social media and then as camps opened last week. Manfred did not waste his chance at the bully pulpit to respond. In direct and veiled statements, Manfred shifted the blame of unmet expectations on super agent Scott Boras, whose dream of a $400 million deal for Harper will almost certainly go unfilled. And while saying his relationship with Clark remained strong, he also chided the MLBPA chief for his February 2018 grievance that claimed the Rays, Marlins, A’s and Pirates were not properly pouring revenue-sharing receipts into major league payroll. Only the Marlins finished with a losing record in that bunch while the A’s made the playoffs with 97 wins. “The assertion that teams aren’t trying started last spring training with Tony Clark singling out four teams,” Manfred said. “He did very poorly with those four teams. This narrative that our teams are not trying is just not supported by the facts. Every single team wants to win. “It may look a little different to outsiders — the way people think about the game, the way a winning team is put together. That doesn’t mean teams are not trying.” And he seemed particularly flummoxed at the threat of a player strike in 2021 floated by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright. “There is no personal acrimony between me and Tony Clark,” Manfred said. “I do believe it’s unfortunate, and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how to conduct good labor relations, to have people running around three years before an agreement expires, that there’s going to be a strike. “I have a degree in labor relations. I’ve never heard that tactic.” Indeed, most players have taken a far more sober approach to the endless winter. That doesn’t mean the resistance isn’t there. “You look at overall revenue versus what the players are getting paid, it’s not correlated anymore,” Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday. “The value is decreased on players when it shouldn’t be; revenues are going up. “I’ve got a great life and appreciate all that’s come my way. I’ve worked very hard for it. I get to play a sport for a job and make a lot of money doing it. But as is with any business, you want it to be fair.