Will there be a free agency splash before MLB lockout? And three other burning offseason questions
Typically, the end of the World Series leads almost immediately to offseason projections about which team needs what and what free agent will sign where.And there’s always — or just about — the knowledge that in a certain amount of days, pitchers and catchers will report to spring training.But for the second time in five years, there is an unknown about when spring — and the regular season — will arrive in 2027, as a lockout that’s set to begin when the current collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m.
on Dec.1.The main point of contention — as it was in 1994 when the players struck and the World Series was cancelled — is the owners’ desire to implement a salary cap and the union’s insistence of avoiding it, even with a salary floor.The last time there was a lockout, there was no shortage of activity before the shutdown and plenty more when the two sides came to an agreement in March.How do things look this time around?There are some people in the industry that believe there’s still a chance for 162 games to be played next season.
There are others that insist the possibility exists of the entire season being lost.What’s clear so far is the proposals being made by both sides so far have been met with incredulity from the other.That’s not a surprise, since this battle has been brewing for years and the lockout — which is meant to spur negotiations — is still over a month away.During the last shutdown, though, talks between the two didn’t really gain any traction until February and the deal struck in March resulted in the start of spring training being pushed back and shortened, but no regular season games were missed despite the delay of Opening Day.That will be the most interesting part of the next few weeks, as front offices and ownership groups decide whether to spend on free agency or whether the possibility of a salary cap on the other side of the work stoppage will scare them off, given the unknown landscape in the ...