Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and other big spenders warned about MLB free agency timeline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
With Major League Baseball's offseason expected to face a lockout, there's a strong argument that signing free agents before the lockout would be the better decision for most teams.
Specifically, it seems like the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and some of the other top spenders in baseball should probably look to do so because they won't have anything holding them back like they might if the lockout decides to put in a salary cap.
For now, it's uncertain what would happen to teams that could be above that salary cap if MLB implements one, but it feels safe to say the league would have to grandfather those contracts in.
There's no way that guys could sign contracts for $300 million and then find out that they're only getting half of that. It would cause major lawsuits and problems that baseball doesn't want to face.
What's interesting, however, is that agents are starting to take note.
That includes the best in the world, Scott Boras, who recently spoke with The Athletic and suggested that for teams around the league, he can argue that it's smart to sign free agents prior to the expected lockout.
“For many teams, I can make an argument it’s clearly best for them to sign players currently, before the (new) CBA, than it is after,” Boras said, per The Athletic. “Because they have more freedom to do what they’re going to do. They can react later. Now they can get the talent. They can get what they want.”
It's no surprise Boras says this to me, considering he has the biggest free agent in baseball in Tarik Skubal.
Boras knows he wants his guy paid as much as anyone in baseball history, and a salary cap doesn't help him get there.
At the same time, Boras has proven he can get his guys paid as well as anyone in baseball. Whether there's a lockout or not, there's a very good chance he's going to get a guy like Skubal paid hundreds of millions of dollars.
More MLB news:
- Blue Jays should be one of many suitors for two Cubs sluggers in MLB free agency
- Aaron Boone says something most New York fans won’t agree with
- Bo Bichette could save the Mets $40M, but not this offseason
- Seven year Blue Jays veteran signs deal to return to NL contender
- Mets get unlikely scenario for bust still owed $46M over next two seasons