Union chief says players are "engaged and unified" (Nats win 5-3)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As he has traveled across Arizona and Florida this spring, Tony Clark has spoken with players from countless ballclubs that were criticized for a lack of spending during the offseason. When he walked into the Nationals clubhouse today, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association found a group of players who shouldn't have had as much reason to criticize, given the aggressive approach to free agency this team took all winter.

And yet the message Clark says he received from Nationals players very much mirrored those he received from every other team he has met during his annual spring training tour.

"They are engaged and unified in everything that they're doing," Clark said. "The guys are in tune. They're in tune in this clubhouse, and this clubhouse is in tune with all the other clubhouses that we've seen, and is doing so in a way that we haven't seen in some time."

Such is the state of affairs across baseball right now, with players universally disgruntled with the lack of spending by clubs, evidenced by the list of prominent free agents still sitting at home waiting to sign with someone only 16 days shy of the season opener.

And that hasn't changed in recent weeks, even as the top two free agents (Bryce Harper and Manny Machado) and one of the top players entering his contract year (Nolan Arenado) all signed record-setting deals.

"No, there are still concerns with regards to what we're seeing," Clark said. "And there are still players who are at home that should be in camp right now as well."

Though there's been plenty of public debate this spring about Major League Baseball's various proposed rule changes - a 20-second pitch clock, a universal designated hitter, a three-batter minimum for pitchers - Clark somewhat surprisingly said the players he's met with are almost exclusively concerned with the sport's economic, not in-game, issues.

"As a former player, we don't have a lot of dialogue about in-game issues, because we love our game as it is," he said. "So our focus tends to be more on the broader economic issues. And the things we do, I think, are affecting our game far more than any number of things that have been discussed on the field."

Ultimately, all of the players' concerns boil down to one simple notion.

"There are a number of pieces connected to our game. But the fundamental is the same," Clark said. "The concern related to that fundamental is the same. And that is: making sure that the best players are on the field all the time. That level of competition, on the field, is important to them, because it's all they know, and we believe is important to the fans as well. So everything starts with that foundation. Competition across all 30 teams. Competition on the field such that everyone is excited coming to the ballpark knowing they are seeing the best players in the world perform on that stage and that time."

Update: We've got a marquee pitching matchup tonight, with Stephen Strasburg facing Justin Verlander. And two innings down, one of the Nats' top prospects has taken Verlander deep. Carter Kieboom blasted a 2-2 high fastball through the wind and well over the fence in left-center for his second homer of the spring. That impressive shot brought home Yan Gomes, who led off the inning with a single. Strasburg gave up a first-inning run via a walk, a double and an RBI groundout, but he got through the second inning unscathed, with a fastball that has sat 93-95 mph.

Update II: What a night for young Mr. Kieboom. As if his first at-bat homer off Verlander wasn't impressive enough, he just added another. He hammered a first-pitch fastball even deeper to left-center off the future Hall of Famer, giving the Nats a 3-2 lead in the fourth.

Update III: Kieboom wasn't the only prospect to homer off Verlander tonight. Add Taylor Gushue to the list. Yes, Gushue, the minor league catcher who absolutely demolished a first-pitch fastball from Verlander over the right field bullpen to open the bottom of the fifth. That produced the Nats' fourth run of the game. They added a fifth in the bottom of the seventh when VIctor Robles walked, stole second, stole third and scored on a wild pitch. Not bad.

Update IV: Henderson Alvarez III worked around a triple and a walk in the ninth, but gets a double play grounder to end it. It's a 5-3 Nationals victory.