Rob Manfred Says There Won't Be Major MLB Rule Changes in 2017, Rips MLBPA

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has had a hard time making the changes he wants to the league.

Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, he was not shy about discussing the latest round of negotiations:

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported a pitch clock and strike zone changes were among the changes considered, but nothing significant has gone through. Per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, Manfred was most upset about not limiting the number of trips to the mound.

The MLB Players Association held back on all significant changes.

However, Howard Bryant of ESPN reported MLB plans to use a dugout signal in place of issuing four balls for an intentional walk starting in the 2017 season. 

Improving the speed of games has been one of Manfred's primary goals since taking over as commissioner in 2015.

"I will say that pace of play is an issue that we need to be focused on," he said in early February, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. "And the 'we' there is players, owners, umpires...everyone who is invested in this game."

According to Mike Axisa of CBS Sports, the average game time increased four minutes over the past season after it decreased from 2014 to 2015.

Last year, the league suggested some changes to speed up the game, including shortening the clock between innings and limiting the time to make a pitching change, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

A more drastic maneuver will be tested this year, featuring extra innings beginning with a runner on second base, via Passan.

While the MLBPA has argued against major changes, Nightengale reported Tuesday the league will be able to make moves in 2018 without approval from the union.