Rob Manfred May Propose MLB Free Agency Signing Deadline in CBA Talks, MLBPA's Tony Clark Responds

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred recently advocated for the inclusion of a deadline for free agency, which led to a response from MLBPA executive director Tony Clark.

"I think there's going to be some more conversation about it, because I do believe that there's a marketing opportunity," Manfred said Thursday in a radio interview with WFAN's Chris Carton and Chris McMonigle (h/t Evan Drellich of The Athletic). "Let's face it, we operate in a really competitive environment. Just put entertainment, generally, to one side — just sports, right? It's really competitive. And I think that you make a mistake, particularly during the offseason, when you don't take every advantage to push your sport out in front of your fans during that down period."

Manfred also said that he didn't "put much credence" into players believing that a deadline would be disadvantageous to them.

Clark fired back on Friday.

"Free agency thrives when competition thrives—on and off the field," Clark told Drellich. "If the owners are genuinely interested in improving free agency, there are many ways to get there, and we look forward to having that discussion in the coming months.

"But if their true interest is to blow up the very system on which our streak of uninterrupted seasons has been built — with the game reaching record heights and poised to go even higher, no less — that would be a self-defeating miscalculation of massive proportions."

Without a deadline, players can wait to sign with their respective teams near the end of the offseason or once the next season begins.

It can occasionally result in a slower free agency period than usual, which has occurred during the current offseason. Players such as Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman and Ranger Suárez are all still available with spring training steadily drawing closer.

The topic could end up becoming a sticking point in collective bargaining agreement negotiations in the future, as the current CBA is set to expire on Dec. 1.