LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball has offered to ditch its proposal for a pitch clock this year and also would go without one in 2019 if the average time of a nine-inning game drops to at least 2 hours, 55 minutes this season.

Speaking after a quarterly owners meeting ended Thursday, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said owners authorized him to implement management’s proposal from last offseason, which calls for a 20-second pitch clock this year, if an agreement cannot be reached with the players’ association. Management has proposed a deal that would phase in new rules over the next three seasons

MLB listened to player’s public comments, and at a Jan. 23 meeting attended by Manfred, deputy commissioner Dan Halem and Clark, MLB proposed no clock this year as part of a three-year plan, Manfred said. There would be a pitch clock in 2019 if the average time of a nine-inning game is higher than 2:55 this year, Manfred said, and a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press the proposal called for an 18-second timer and only with no runners on base.

MLB proposed if the average time of a nine-inning game in 2019 is 2:50 or higher, a 20-second pitch clock with runners on base would be added for 2020, the person said. MLB did not set a specific deadline for the union to reach an agreement.

The average time of a nine-inning game was a record 3:05 last year and has not been at 2:55 or below since 2011 and at 2:50 or under since 2006.

In other news:

• Manfred said MLB’s proposal to put a runner on second base at the start of the 11th inning of the All-Star Game and each additional inning, and also in the 10th inning of spring training games is “a limited purpose tool” and wouldn’t be used in regular-season or postseason games. He said it could be used in the World Baseball Classic.

• All big league teams agreed to extend protective netting to at least the far ends of both dugouts this season.

ARBITRATION: Pitcher Shelby Miller won his salary arbitration case against Arizona after missing most of last season because of a torn elbow ligament, a decision that gave players a 2-0 record this year.

Miller was awarded a $200,000 raise to $4.9 million. The Diamondbacks argued he should be paid the same salary as in 2017, when he lost in arbitration after asking for $5.1 million.

INDIANS: Utility man Michael Martinez will be sidelined at least six months following Achilles tendon surgery, and his career could be in jeopardy.

Mark Appel, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 draft, has walked away from baseball without ever throwing a pitch in the major leagues.

Appel, a hard-throwing pitcher from Stanford taken by the Astros with the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft, announced his intention to leave the game. He was released by Philadelphia in November.

Appel went 24-18 with a 5.06 ERA over five seasons in the minors with teams for the Astros and Philadelphia Phillies.

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