Harper's future will likely have an impact on the 150 remaining free agents in MLBGETTY IMAGES
Two months into MLB's offseason, the free agent market as a whole "still appears to be in a high-stakes waiting game," with Manny Machado and Bryce Harper as the "pivot-points -- with the slow-moving market in some ways echoing that of last winter," according to Dave Sheinin of the WASHINGTON POST. As of yesterday, only 50 of the roughly 200 free agents available this winter "had signed major league contracts, and only seven of those had received deals for more than two years." But the futures of Machado and Harper "affect those of everyone else on the marketplace, and with the flipping of the calendar" to '19, it "no longer feels so early in the winter" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/3). ESPN.com's Jeff Passan noted although "outright tanking is not a significant issue in baseball, lack of competitiveness among more than a dozen teams pollutes the market and is going to leave quality players scrounging for jobs as spring training approaches -- especially the longer it takes" Machado and Harper to sign. Both GMs and agents feel the "domino effect could unfurl in a number of directions" depending on when and where Machado and Harper end up (ESPN.com, 1/2).
GOING ON THE CLOCK? In DC, Todd Dybas asked, "What can be done to expedite this process for all involved? And, how will this impasse impact the next collective bargaining agreement?" Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski suggested at the Winter Meetings that an offseason transaction deadline "should be considered," but that would have "complications and need caveats." A "fight is coming" after the '21 season when the current CBA expires. During its five years, an "increasingly slow roll in free agency has put players on alert, prompted executives to suggest framework be adjusted and produced new problems while attempting to solve old ones." Dybas: "As the calendar turns, the only assured thing is no one outside ownership thinks the current structure is working" (NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.com, 12/31).
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: ESPN.com's Buster Olney noted CAA agent Jeff Berry "wrote a memo this past summer filled with ideas for change" amid the "heightened union concern about the developing financial conditions for the players." The memo "includes a range of ideas about attacking service-time manipulation, forming strategies for salary arbitration and outlining actions that players could take to compel change -- from collectively delaying their arrival to spring training to a boycott of the MLB Network." The memo "reflects concerns and acrimony building within the ranks of players and agents over what they perceive as a growing financial disparity between owners and players since the negotiations" of the current CBA in '16 (ESPN.com, 12/31).
