MLB Offseason: Owners got a dinger of a CBA

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears...

Now is the winter of our discontent. The current collective bargaining agreement between the MLBPA and MLB's owners expires at 12:01 a.m. on December 1, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has essentially made it clear that he fully expects a lockout to happen.

What does a lockout mean versus a strike? Strikes mean the players refuse to work under the conditions of an existing CBA. This is what happened in 1994. Lockouts mean the owners are refusing to let the players come to work without a new CBA.

All signs are that this is going to be a nasty labor struggle. The MLBPA wants several things, such as the addressing of service time manipulation, changes to free agency rules, changes to arbitration, and to revoke what Tony Clark gave up in the last CBA, which was the commissioner's right to unilaterally change rules without union consent.

Ownership wants what it always wants: In the name of "cost certainty," they want a decreased luxury tax threshold, they're going after guaranteed contracts, and they want to up the age of free agency to 29.5 years old, instead of tying it to service time. The union, in a rare show of sanity, has said this is a non-starter.

I live in eastern Iowa, now, my brothers and sisters, so it is cold. It is very cold. Let us gather 'round the hot stove and huddle together with the warmth of insane trades, groovy signings, and the joy that is bizarre MLB news until spring training camps open in February.

 

It's also a tremendous underpay, but I understand how it's life-changing money for Wander and his family. But, yeah, there's no way on Earth that Tampa Bay doesn't trade him by year 5 or 6 of that deal.

 

Franco is a tough prospect to really project. His strikeout numbers are terribly high, and he's allergic to holding off on swinging at pitches high and outside, but at the same time, he draws walks at a ridiculously good rate for such a young player.

 

The Rays spending money like it's going out of style feels exceedingly weird, and it makes me think they're expecting a hefty Christmas gift in the form of a ridiculously lowered luxury tax threshold, a new stadium deal or both.

 

Pirates trade Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings to the Marlins for pitcher Zach Thompson and two prospects. The Bucs have also DFA'd Colin Moran and Steven Brault. My dad is seriously considering finding another team to root for after being a Pirates fan his entire life.

 

It's a shame, especially for someone who is old enough to have seen (live and in person) the glory days of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell, and even when the Pirates were still at least contending in the years when Bonds and Bonilla were on the team. The current owner and GM seem happy to just run things into the ground.