Commissioner addresses Spring Breakout, free agency and more

TAMPA, Fla. -- Spring Breakout, the future of baseball on television and free agency were among the topics Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed during Spring Training Media Day at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday.

Annually, baseball operations officials and field managers from every club are invited to participate in organized media sessions. Florida-based clubs participated in the Grapefruit League gathering on Thursday, while Cactus League teams will meet next Tuesday in Glendale, Ariz.

While addressing media on Thursday, Manfred addressed MLB’s newest event, Spring Breakout, which will take place in March and feature baseball’s top prospects.

Each organization will field a team of top prospects and play another organization’s team of top prospects.

“It’s really important for us to market our players before they get to the big leagues,” Manfred said. “There’s a whole program in place, including things like having Minor League games on MLB.TV. This is another part of that effort.

“The game has been so dominated by young players new to the game. We think it’s really important to give fans every opportunity to see them.”

Other highlights from Thursday’s address include:

Netflix documentary on the Red Sox

Netflix is producing a Red Sox documentary, following the team throughout the 2024 season. It will air next year.

“All of those projects are done with the league working in tandem with the club,” Manfred said. “I think that all sports fans understand that non-game content is an important part of the marketing of the game, giving your fans the opportunity to see players when they’re not on the field, giving insight into what makes them tick. I think it’s a really important first venture for us, and I think you’re going to see a lot more of it going forward.”

MLB on more TVs

Manfred was asked about MLB putting together a TV bundle for fans.

“I think that longer term, our goal is to preserve what is the remainder [of] the legacy cable bundle, the economics of that bundle are really important to us,” he said. “There are some people, including Rob Manfred, who will be clutching that cable remote until I die. I do, however, recognize that there are a lot of people for reasons completely unrelated to baseball or any kind of programming to tell you the truth, for fundamental economic reasons, opt out of that cable bundle.

“We have to serve those people. Put the economics to one side. It’s a question of reach. You’ve got to get the games in the household. The economics of the broadcasts in some ways is secondary to the rest of our business. Think about it this way. If there’s a house where there are young kids, and they’re cord cutters and there’s no way to watch baseball, it’s unlikely those kids are going to be fans and asking their parents to go to a game live. I think you have to look at it big picture.”

A free-agent signing period

Many big-name players remain free agents, including Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger and Jordan Montgomery. Many others remain unsigned, too.

Manfred expressed a desire to have a free-agent signing period, with a deadline “probably in December” that would help teams and players “get things settled” earlier in the offseason.

“We actually made proposals to that effect to the MLBPA. They were not warmly received,” Manfred said. “I think that with the system we have right now, one of the tactics that’s available to player representatives is to stretch out the negotiation and the belief that they’re going to get a better deal. That’s part of the system right now, and there’s not a lot we can do about it.

"Certainly, from an aspirational perspective, we’d rather have two weeks of flurried activity in December … and we all get excited about the upcoming year. That’ll be a project for the next go around.”

Stadiums and expansion

Before Manfred’s term expires in 2029, he would love to see the Rays get a new ballpark in Tampa Bay and the A’s get a new ballpark in Las Vegas.

“I hope I’m here to go to Opening Day as Commissioner for both Tampa Bay and Las Vegas,” he said. “Expansion, I don’t think realistically those clubs would be playing before I’m finished. I would like to have the process in place and operating before then.”

Could cities be awarded teams before then?

“That’s too specific for me right now,” Manfred said. “That’s a long way away.”