THE 'PITCH' IS BACK

Evan Davis

After 99 grueling days, an agreement has finally been reached between the players and the owners. This issue has received a ton of backlash, as the owners and the MLB were reluctant to speak to the players months after the season had concluded. But finally, after about 2 ½ weeks of negotiations, we have baseball back in our arms.

There are over 100 free agents who have yet to sign, and some of those big fish include former World Series winner Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, Carlos Rodon, the list can go on. It is interesting to see when these highly respectable players will sign, as Spring Training is able to pick up as early as today. These next few weeks will be filled with breaking news and this is shaping up to be one of the most intense MLB free agencies we have seen in quite some time. Opening Day was originally set for April 14th, but now has been magically pushed up a week to April 7th.

Us fans were showered by tweets from Jon Heyman and Jeff Passan about the huge discrepancies between the players and owners, with some of the main ones being the luxury tax threshold and how many years of arbitration there should really be.

It is great to finally have baseball back because we finally have our summer plans organized. With the league being so wide open, free agency will definitely play a huge factor in how teams fare heading into the 2022-2023 season. With Freddie Freeman being the hottest free agent this season and with a lot of potential suitors, featuring the Dodgers, Braves, Blue Jays, Brewers, and Yankees. We have made our predictions on our “Breaking News Bears” podcast and we are at a split with the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Brewers as our most realistic teams for Freeman next season. With him not resigning a contract with Atlanta before the lockout definitely raises eyebrows if he will return to the Braves. Carlos Correa is projected to head up to the Bronx and join the star studded lineup of “The Bronx Bombers”. Trevor Story is projected to overtake Carlos Correa in Houston and possibly land some sort of deal around three years for the semi proven hitter. So much can happen and I’m all here for it.

With the extension of the postseason, a lot of teams need to consider if they are in the “buy” or “sell” market. A team like the Cincinnati Reds were in talks on possibly shipping off ace Luis Castillo and a solid #2 in Sonny Gray, but now with the extra postseason slots they could definitely be a dark horse team that can take advantage of the new playoff format. A team like the Seattle Mariners could also be a sneaky team that definitely has a chance of making the playoffs with the format in place. There are definitely a bunch of teams that were just vying for a playoff spot last year who can jump into a spot this season.

One of the biggest stories to come out of the new CBA is the universal DH. This has the power to increase the market value for players like Nick Castellanos and Nelson Cruz, who now have the potential to make $20M+ per year. Being a fan of a National League team I am so happy that the universal DH is here to stay because I am so sick and tired of the “guaranteed” out with the pitcher hitting. Let's be honest here, not many pitchers are looking to hit when they are at the plate, so sometimes pitchers have the ability to demoralize the confidence of the team depending on the situation with runners on base. I’m so happy this is here to stay!

Overall the pure excitement of baseball in the spring time brings me joy and I can’t wait for the season to begin. I am an absolute dark horse when it comes to fantasy baseball. Oh, and Freddie Freeman is going to be a Dodger. Book it.