Baseball union’s Donald Fehr watches as free agents wait

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LAS VEGAS -- Donald Fehr, the executive director of the MLB Players Assn., said today that the union is watching with interest as top free agents wait to sign and scores of other free agents wait for even an offer.

‘It’s not too early to have observations,’ Fehr said. ‘It’s too early to draw conclusions.’

Fehr declined to discuss those observations, but did say: ‘You would expect that sooner or later -- and I think sooner -- people will recognize they want to put the best teams they can on the field. That requires players. ... Clubs want to win games. Fans want the best possible players on the field.’

Francisco Rodriguez is expected to sign with the New York Mets for three years and $37 million, about half the money he hoped to earn in free agency and just about the same contract he rejected from the Angels last year.

Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Manny Ramirez remain unsigned, and no team has confirmed making an offer to Ramirez beyond the Dodgers -- who say they have no current offer on the table. Ramirez has not responded to a two-year, $45-million proposal or to a one-year proposal of salary arbitration.

Fehr said it is too soon for him to say how the slumping economy is affecting baseball.

‘Nobody knows,’ he said. ‘It’s premature to draw any conclusions.’

Is he concerned about another round of collusion, this time under the guise of an economic slowdown?

‘For 20 years, we’ve always been concerned about that,’ Fehr said.

-- Bill Shaikin