Commentary: I finally agree with Rob Manfred on something |
The MLB offseason is in the final stretch, and it was once again dull. As has been the case throughout the last few offseasons, free agency has dragged deep into the New Year. The GM Meetings and Winter Meetings were quiet; a few marquee names signed before Christmas, and rumors and signings have trickled in slowly.
Shohei Ohtani was the big ticket item of the offseason, and he signed a record contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-December. Things picked up briefly as the Dodgers signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto and acquired Tyler Glasnow. Sonny Gray signed with the Cardinals; the Yankees traded for Juan Soto; the Giants signed Jung Hoo Lee, and the Cubs signed Shota Imanaga, both out of Japan. Recent moves include the Baltimore Orioles trading for Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, the Philadelphia Phillies signing Whit Merrifield, the Toronto Blue Jays signing Justin Turner, the Milwaukee Brewers inking Rhys Hoskins, and the Giants acquiring Jorge Soler. Some big names have certainly changed teams — but as all teams have had their pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, a surplus of extreme talents remains on the open market. Cubs fans have their eyes on Cody Bellinger, who remains unsigned, but he joins the likes of reigning Cy Young award winner in the National League Blake Snell, as well as World Series champion Jordan Montgomery and All-Stars Matt Chapman and JD Martinez. That’s just at the top of the list; players like Hyun Jun-Ryu, Mike Clevinger, Tim Anderson, Brandon Belt, Tommy Pham, Adam Duvall, Michael Lorenzen, Brandon Woodruff, and Liam Hendriks are still without employers. The slow pace and lack of action through a lengthy offseason hurt MLB’s ability to keep fans engaged in the winter months. When thinking about the NBA or NFL (MLB’s top two competitors) and their free agency period, the excitement and interest from fans is something that MLB can not match… but why? MLB’s free agency essentially starts after the last out of the World Series and does not end; teams are free to sign players until the season begins and throughout the season if need be. But let’s take a look at the NBA and NFL. In the NBA, they have a designated date for free agency to begin, and a flurry of signings often occurs once the negotiation period begins. Players cannot sign before that date — and because of the negotiation period, teams are quick to pounce on their free agency targets, which makes that week wildly entertaining for NBA fans. The NFL is similar; with the Super Bowl done by the second week of February, the NFL has a period from mid-March to mid-April where all restricted free agents can sign. These deadlines create pressure, excitement, and action for NFL fans. Granted, both the NFL and NBA are leagues with a salary cap and a salary floor — meaning that all teams must be in a specific spending window. In any given offseason, these teams know what they can spend and what other teams can spend, allowing them to try to build their teams based on team needs and a desire to keep players away from other teams. MLB teams can afford to move slowly because they can spend as much or as little as they want. Certain NFL or NBA teams may not have the cap space to sign Patrick Mahomes or Lebron James, so they can try to make it happen as soon as possible. When a player like Shohei Ohtani is on the market, he can wait for the market to develop as there are no parameters on a “max contract” or a “cap hit” like you will see in the NBA or NFL. But the other reason is that there is no dramatic opening, no exciting free agency period, and no deadline to have moves done by. Year after year, the MLB’s GM Meetings and Winter Meetings come with a lot of anticipation and go quietly with a flurry of rumors and a lack of action. The only baseball offseason that felt exciting was before the lockout, which had a deadline to get deals done, which saw an increase in activity before the lockout began — and several moves that occurred once the lockout ended as well. The only way for free agency to get exciting for MLB fans was the looming lockout — one of the worst things for the sport in recent memory. Commissioner Rob Manfred (who announced he will be stepping down after the 2029 season) mentioned that he thinks the MLB should implement a free agency period with a deadline, preferably in December right around the GM and Winter meetings — but so far, the MLBPA has denied their requests. I can’t say it much, but I have to be honest, in this instance, I agree with Rob Manfred.
