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JUPITER, Fla. — Sure, this may be an overly cynical view. I’ll own that. It just seemed like Major League Baseball knew it was ramming through rules changes, such as the pitch clock, that raised objections from players and the MLB Players Association, so it got out in front of the pushback.

If the MLBPA’s loudest arguments are based on health and player safety, then it makes sense to have a panel of experts and physicians weigh in with a document that tells everyone all the other reasons pitchers get hurt.

I mean, that’s the sort of thing I’d use if were I MLB and wanted a ready-made rebuttal. As soon as anyone claims that the increased pace and shorter rest for pitchers might lead to injuries, I’d just produce that document to refute those assertions.

Because I’ve got that cynical side to me, I couldn’t pass up the chance to ask MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark, who has raised objections on the grounds of health and safety in the past, about that MLB report on pitcher injuries. I wondered whether he had a similarly cynical view of the report’s intentions.

“I try to be a glass-half-full guy, I try. I really try,� Clark said standing on the patio behind the major league clubhouse at the Cardinals spring training facility on Wednesday morning. “So a report that suggests what we already know is an issue isn’t much of a report.

“The question becomes: How do you address the challenges we’re seeing in our game, understanding that they’re multifaceted?�

In case you’re not familiar with MLB’s answer to The Warren Commission Report, the league commissioned a study in the fall of 2023 with the stated intention to “identify factors that have contributed to increases in pitcher injuries and recommend future areas of study to reduce injuries and improve health for players at all levels of baseball.�

When you phrase it that way, it sure makes MLB sound like a benevolent organization concerned with research that will benefit the game at various levels.

Conversely, I just seem like a hater.

However, that report released this past December served more like a survey — one that included more than 200 people such as former players, orthopedic surgeons, trainers, biomechanics specialists, player agents and club officials — than it did a definitive quantitative analysis.

This report concluded the issue is complex and has many factors. It also concluded that “the most significant causes� were likely increased velocity of pitches, an emphasis on optimizing “stuff� and the modern pitcher’s focus on “exerting maximum effort while pitching in both game and non-game situations.�

In other words, all the things you probably expected.

OK, let’s get cynical again for a moment. The executive summary of the report included the following passage:

“Some experts speculated on the potential influence of other factors on the short-term increase in injuries over the past several years, including the lasting effect of COVID-impacted seasons, the introduction of the pitch clock, and perceived inconsistencies in the surface grip of the baseball.

“There was not sufficient consensus or evidence to establish a link between these other factors and pitcher injuries, but we will continue to monitor these issues to determine whether there is any additional evidence to support these theories over time.�

Interesting how those “speculated� other factors that don’t have sufficient consensus or evidence included several things that have prompted players to publicly voice their concerns and complaints.

And yes, the pitch clock is included. Hmm, interesting.

Everyone all together now in your best Mel Allen voice, “How about that?�

While I’m clearly bringing hateration and holleration to the dancery (shout out to Mary J. Blige), Clark took the high road and continued to focus on the bigger picture.

“Obviously, there was some conversation last year about changes to the pitch clock,� Clark said. “OJK, well that’s one part of the equation. There are myriad of moving pieces there that are a part of why are our guys finding themselves less able to stay out of the training room than not. Those things go back to the system that they’re playing in before they get to professional ball, whether that’s high school or even prior or even collegiately.

“All of it is a part of the conversation. All I can tell you is we’re seeing more and more pitchers get injured. And when that happens, it’s not a positive that lends itself to that’s just the way things are and should be. That’s not how they should be.�

Clark also referenced the MLBPA trying to “appreciate� the philosophy guiding MLB clubs and their approach to pitching. He suggested that the game is putting pitchers in harm’s way.

Clark even cited a personal example. His son, Aeneas Clark, is a pitcher at the University of Missouri who is currently attempting to come back from an arm injury.

“Watching our professional guys go through it, watching on a personal front my son go through it and watching a lot of his teammates go through it, this is a multifaceted issue that’s going to require some folks to take it a little more seriously, I think, than what we’ve taken it (and) with an eye on trying to shift it or change it — if it’s going to happen,� Clark said.

Clark surely doesn’t have a magic solution, and he’s always going to look at issues from a player’s perspective, but I’d bet on him being more genuinely invested in addressing this issue than an industry that increasingly seems to considers it a best-case scenario when players are interchangeable parts.

Sorry. There it goes again. I guess my cynical side is just overwhelming on this subject.