The Lockout is Over

Posted By on March 10, 2022

Play Ball!

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This article has 37 Comments

  1. I knew my post this morning would shame them into settling. Lol
    Awesome. Now for total chaos with player moves and signings. MLB should just have a ticker live stream of the signings.

  2. I am going through horrible baseball withdrawals. This will give me my fix.

    Now let’s get ready for the season!

  3. Newsfeeds are going to blow up by this evening. Hopefully the damage has been limited. I still can’t believe they let it go this far.

    I know many are hoping Freeman. I predict he’s back in Atlanta by morning.

      1. Interesting.

        Olney reports: As the transactions begin, some rival executives curious about whether the Yankees attempt to move quickly on Freddie Freeman.

  4. Opening Day Reportedly Set For April 7
    By Anthony Franco | March 10, 2022 at 2:34pm CDT

    With the new collective bargaining agreement in place, Opening Day will be set for April 7, as first reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). It’ll be a 162-game season with full player pay, with the season delayed by three days and doubleheaders in place to compensate for the one-week delayed start. Spring Training games will begin around March 18.

    2021 Rule 5 Draft Officially Canceled
    By Mark Polishuk | March 10, 2022 at 2:57pm CDT

    The 2021 edition of the Rule 5 Draft has been officially canceled, according to The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (via Twitter). Originally set to take place in December at the end of the Winter Meetings, the R5 was one of the many staples of the baseball calendar postponed by the lockout, and reports surfaced last week that just about all front offices around baseball were in favor of simply canceling this year’s draft.

    In another notable development, Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports (on Twitter) that the on-field rules changes put into effect as pandemic protocols have been lifted. The nine-inning doubleheader returns, as do standard rules for extra innings. The “ghost runner” provision has been scrapped.

  5. (What proved to be) the final MLB proposal, per source:

    Luxury-tax thresholds – $230M to $244M over course of five-year deal. (increase of $2M in final year from last offer)

    Pre-arb pool: $50M (increase of $10M)

    Minimum salaries, $700K to $780K. (increase of $10K in final year)

    MLB, MLBPA agreed to negotiate on international draft until July 25. Draft pick compensation will be removed if they agree by then to remove it. Status quo on international entry and draft compensation if no deal by then.

  6. Anyone know if the shift is history this year? Or only starting next season?

    1. According to MLB Network reporter Jon Heyman, the players union agreed, in principle, to allow MLB to implement a pitch clock, increase the size of bases, and ban the shift starting in 2023. The league has long eyed banning the shift as a method to increase defensive activity and add more excitement to the game

      1. OK, so that sounds like the end of the shift is still one year away. Thanks AVF.

      1. Thanx.
        Lets see how the Dodgers will use this. Bryan would be nice , could spell JT at 3b and allow him to DH.

        Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. What happens with Trevor Bauer will be interesting. The MLB so called investigation should have been concluded by now. Manfred has the gavel and the Dodger organization has to figure out what to do if no suspension is in order.

  10. New CBA Officially Introduces Universal Designated Hitter
    By Anthony Franco | March 10, 2022 at 3:36pm CDT

    Today’s collective bargaining agreement officially introduced the designated hitter to the National League, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. That’s certainly not a surprise, as the universal DH had been one of the earlier principles for MLB and the Players Association to settle.

    The union has sought a universal DH for quite some time, with more possibility for aging or defensively-limited players to have regular roles. AL teams have increasingly used the position as a quasi-rest day for regular players rather than committing to a true full-time DH, but six players (Nelson Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, J.D. Martinez, Giancarlo Stanton, Franmil Reyes and Yordan Álvarez) tallied at least 400 plate appearances in the role last season.

  11. A deal with DH Nelson Cruz for a year to serve as a bridge so that Vargas and Bush are ready next year makes a lot of sense to me:
    SS Trea
    RF Betts
    CF Bellinger
    DH N.Cruz
    1B Muncy
    3B J.Turner
    C Smith
    LF Pollock
    2B Lux
    Not Freeman, Pujols was also 32 years old when he signed with the Angels, NO THANKS.
    Yes to an extension to TT.
    Yes to Bauer.
    Bring back CK22, KJ and Kelly on short deals, the Dodgers have to be healthy financially to sign Buehler, Bellinger and Urias.
    A Buehler, Miller, May, Urias, Pepiot starting pitching rotation will be wonderful.
    playball !!!

  12. MLB Owners Expected To Ratify CBA At 6pm; Transactions Unfrozen Immediately After
    By Tim Dierkes | March 10, 2022 at 3:47pm CDT

    MLB owners are expected to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement at 6pm eastern/5pm central time tonight, according to Andy Martino of SNY. Transactions are set to unfreeze immediately thereafter, meaning teams will again be able to sign free agents and make trades. Upon locking out the players on December 2, MLB also instituted a transaction freeze, which ended up lasting 99 excruciating days.

    We’re expecting an unprecedented level of MLB hot stove action crammed into a 28-day period, with Opening Day set for April 7. Hundreds of free agents are still without jobs, including 20 of MLBTR’s top 50 of the offseason. Click here to review the best remaining free agents, led by Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Kris Bryant, Trevor Story, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Carlos Rodon, Michael Conforto, and Seiya Suzuki. Check out the full free agent list here. To review which free agents signed prior to the lockout, click here. My ballpark estimate is that around 60 free agents will sign MLB deals between now and Opening Day. Old qualifying offer rules remain in place for this group of free agents, meaning that if new teams sign Correa, Freeman, Story, Castellanos, and Conforto, they’ll be subject to draft pick forfeiture.

    Several factors will affect exactly how aggressive teams are in pursuing free agents. One is how many executives bent the rules and communicated with agents during the lockout, potentially laying groundwork for instant agreements.

    Another is the new competitive balance tax thresholds. The base tax threshold will rise from $210MM in 2021 to $230MM this year, a 9.5% increase. By 2026, the base tax threshold will reach $244MM. There are three additional tax tiers beyond the base threshold at $20MM increments, the last of which is a new addition with this CBA. In 2021, only the Dodgers and Padres exceeded the base tax threshold, but five other teams came within $3.4MM of it. The teams that prefer to treat the base tax threshold as a soft salary cap now have an additional $20MM to play with in 2022.

    It’s also worth considering the new anti-tanking measures agreed to by MLB and the players. They’ll be instituting a draft lottery for the first six picks, and also penalties for landing near the bottom of the standings multiple years in a row (we’ll explore that fully later). In theory, rebuilding clubs could become a little more active in the market.

    An additional major CBA change that may affect free agency is the move from 10 to 12-team playoffs. The bar for entry into the playoffs has been lowered. That could push a fringe contender to acquire players. On the flip side, a team projecting itself for 90+ wins may feel certain additions are now unnecessary with fewer wins required to make the playoffs.

  13. Wow-the 8 player reps on the Executive Council voted 8-0 to reject the CBA but the individual player reps voted in favor. Scherzer, Gerrit Cole, Andrew Miller and others were perhaps a little too emotional and weren’t fully aligned with the player reps.

    Perhaps the Executive Council needs to be more diverse and instead of driving the money up and up should look to better represent and reflect all of the players, rather than just the elite.

    1. Five of eight members of executive subcommittee are Scott Boras clients. Subcommittee wanted luxury-tax thresholds pushed higher.

      I wanted them abolished!

      The players’ board vote to accept a deal was 26-12. I, for some reason, thought it would be more decisive.

      Teams voted 26-4 in favor, the dissenting teams were NYM, NYY, HOU, STL.

  16. In case you’re wondering. Players can voluntarily report to camp as soon as tomorrow. Mandatory report date is 3/13 and games may start as early as the 18th. Oh yeah, games to start one week from tomorrow.

    Technically, Bauer is no longer on administrative leave and isn’t currently suspended.

    Bill Plaschke identifies the rotation as an area in need of attention. His suggestion is to cut Bauer and sign Kershaw. I think Plaschke is living in the past. Maybe he should follow Clayton’s lead and start working on that swan song.

    I have mixed feelings towards Clayton. In think the words of Branch Rickey sum it up best. Better a year to early than a year too late. I think the same can be applied to Kenley. He’s good, but is he reliable? He’s going to insist on being the closer and isn’t going to be happy if he isn’t. Likewise, if Clayton is on the team, he has to be in the rotation. No matter if he’s blocking someone better. Think about that when Dustin May comes back. I’m not of the opinion that May will go straight to the bullpen. Precedence says that a starter coming back from Tommy John, comes back as a starter more often than not. 15 months is the expected recovery period if everything goes well.

    I want Joe Kelly back, but on the cheap. He was injured every single year of his last contract. I think he owes the Dodgers a “Let me re-establish my value” deal. He has a house in Rancho Cucamonga and has a kid in little league right now. I can see him sacrificing some $$ to stay close to home.

    Nelson Cruz is about 100 days younger than Albert Pujols, 8 years older than Freddie Freeman. The Dodgers aren’t going to have a full time DH according to Max Muncy. Cruz’ production fell off a bit last year. File that one under “Never gonna happen”.

    It’s so nice having baseball back and on schedule. It’s going to be a quick Spring Training and with games starting on April 7, it feels like the season is starting on time. I wonder how long it will take for Freddie to sign.

    The Dodgers are good enough to field a 26 man roster right now and would be in the mix as the front runner in the NL. I would have no problems filling out a lineup card, setting the rotation and managing a deep and talented bullpen with this team.

    I’m very excited for the upcoming season and I can’t wait to see what Andrew is going to do to put the final touches on this team in the upcoming weeks.

    Cheers everyone!

    1. I believe Freeman will be signed by tomorrow. I think the Dodgers have about 4 or 5 players on the 40 man who are totally expendable. No rule 5 draft this year. Saw a photo of Seager in his Texas uni, just looks wrong. Former Dodger Odalis Perez passes away after suffering a head injury falling off of a ladder. Dodgers sign lefty Daniel Zamora to a minor league deal. Players photo’s now back on the Dodger website. Feeling is that Jansen will NOT return to LA> Mets and Red Sox said to be in on him.

  17. Jerry Hairston on SportsNet LA says he has it on good authority that Freeman will sign (somewhere ) within the next 24-36 hours

        1. Someone said on Twitter that the Dodgers had the best offer on the table. 6/180. I do not think Freeman at age 32 is going to sign for anything less than 5 years at least. Dodger home opener is Apri 14th against the Reds. Four game series, then Atlanta comes in.

    1. I don’t see how he fits. They want a lefty bat to replace Seager. They don’t want a full time DH. Casty has settled in as a below average defensive outfielder. I love his bat, but I don’t like his glove at all.

    1. I hope the Dodgers can do better than “Wish”, the pick and save of the online world.

  20. The 12 team playoff format will look like this…

    No more game 163, instead a series of tiebreaker scenarios will determine playoff teams in case of ties at the end of the regular season…

    In each league, the best record and the second best record division winners get a buy in the first round (1 and 2 seed).
    The third best division winner plays the wildcard with the worst record (3 seed vs 6 seed) while the other two wildcard teams play each other (4 seed vs 5 seed).

    Next round. 1 seed plays winner of (4 vs 5) and the 2 seed plays winner of (3 vs 6).

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