Brewers-Rays World Series Isn't Saving MLB From Potential Lockout

The next week will be exciting across Major League Baseball, but then things are going to get a bit nerve-wracking.

The Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays will take the field on Friday night in Game 1 of the World Series. If the series makes it all the way to Game 7, it will end on Oct. 31. The earliest the series could end is on Tuesday, Oct. 27, if either team sweeps. Afterward, it's anyone's guess when baseball will be played again. The current collective bargaining agreement will expire in December and there very likely will be a lockout.

ESPN's Jeff Passan was asked if having two teams with lower payrolls in the World Series will positively impact the ongoing negotiations and potential lockout. His answer wasn't promising.

"I wish the answer was yes, but I think part of it is because both sides are just so deeply entrenched in their positions that if the inverse of what we’re going on right now is true, and this was the Dodgers and Yankees, the MLBPA wouldn’t be deviating from its position either, because everyone believes what they want to believe when it comes to a salary cap and moving anyone off of their standard and set position at this point and perhaps going even further is just an impossibility, especially this early on," Passan said to Front Office Sports when asked if the Brewers-Rays World Series matchup will help negotiations. "So while it would be nice, I think for everybody to acknowledge the reasonable points that the other side is making, no one’s prepared to do that at this point. It’s what makes this so scary, I think, for baseball long-term."

What's Next For Major League Baseball?

Neither the Brewers, nor the Rays, have ever won a World Series. We're going to see a team win a World Series for the first time in its franchise history. But unfortunately, uncertainty still looms over the league as a whole.

Major League Baseball and the MLBPA have clear differences in opinion when it comes to the finances of the league, and specifically the idea of a salary cap, among other things. As the ongoing labor battle has been discussed, the idea of parity across the league and competitive balance has been discussed at length.

There's no denying the fact that the Dodgers have done things differently than every other team in the league over the last few years when it comes to adding superstar talent. But that doesn't mean other teams couldn't have spent and added stars as well. These clubs are owned by billionaires, for the most part. Regardless of the exact value, every team has access to a boatload of cash. The Dodgers' spending could be viewed by some as a problem. But the teams at the bottom of the league's payroll list refusing to spend, is also a problem.

You can build a title contender without spending $400 million. The Brewers and Rays have shown this. But there are far more issues at hand heading into this labor debate. In a perfect world, the business side of the league wouldn't get in the way of the baseball being played on the field. But that could very well end up being the case. There are at least four more games to be played in the 2026 season. After that, it's anyone's guess when we will see baseball played.