Winter is Coming: Evan Longoria Warns The Baseball World That a Strike is Coming If Shit Doesn't Change
It was not long ago that I wrote this blog about how the MLB CBA is broken and that a players strike seems to be the only outcome in a few years. The TLDR version of that is 1) owners are making more than they ever have, but not spending anywhere close to it. Two franchise changing 26 year old superstars are on the market and only four or so teams are considered interested in either of them. There has never been an offseason quite like this one, with such incredible talent available, but so little intrigue from teams. The other issue is baseball’s rule with rookies and their service time. Needing to accrue six years of service time in order to reach free agency is insanity. And when they finally get to free agency the owners don’t want to give them long term deals.
So here comes Evan Longoria voicing what every player is likely thinking these days, especially Harper and Machado. He’s right. Everyday there’s a new reason not to give Harper $300 million or Manny even $250 million. When Trout becomes available in a few years with Mookie Betts I’m sure owners will find reasons against signing them too. Scott Boras had his clients wait until into spring training to sign last year because the market wasn’t there. The fact that it’s January 18th and spring training is right around the corner yet Manny and Bryce are still on the market is illogical. It’s not just them either. Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are also without deals at the moment. Even Marwin Gonzalez.
Get ready for a strike. It’s coming.