It’s been three months since Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Max Scherzer found new homes amid an unprecedented free agent spending spree.
Three long months of nothing, at least for fans used to filling their winters with updates off the hot stove.
That’s about to change, and fast. Players voted Thursday to halt the sport’s lockout and agree to terms with Major League Baseball on a new collective bargaining agreement. That ended a 99-day work stoppage and an accompanying roster freeze that left Carlos Correa and Freddie Freeman among the 138 big league free agents in limbo.
It’s hard to imagine anything can compete with the last-minute splurge by clubs before the lockout, when they committed a record $1.4 billion in a single day.
But with Kris Bryant and Clayton Kershaw among those still without a home for 2022 and beyond, expect another big buzz when MLB formally lifts its freeze on transactions as soon as Thursday night.
MLB held a call with the league’s general managers Thursday, going over the rules for free agency.
“When that call ends,” predicted Arizona Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall, “the frenzy begins.”
Here’s what to look for when that happens:
IN SHORT SUPPLY
A star quintet of shortstops headlined this year’s free agent class, but three of them came off the board before the work stoppage: Seager and Semien went to the Texas Rangers, and Javier Báez signed with the Detroit Tigers.
Correa and Trevor Story remain, with Andrelton Simmons also available for suitors who might miss out.
Correa, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, was considered the top player on the market entering the offseason and is certain to get the biggest deal of the players left this spring. The 27-year-old batted .279 with 26 homers, 92 RBIs and an .850 OPS for Houston in 2021, perhaps shaking some concerns about his durability by playing 148 games — his first time with at least 111 since 2016.
Two targets loom for Correa — Seager’s $325 million, 10-year deal was the biggest signed this offseason, and Francisco Lindor’s $341 million, 10-year contract with the Mets is the record payday for a shortstop.
Correa is looking for a deep-pocketed team in need of infield help. Conveniently, the Yankees top the list of clubs without a shortstop.
New York general manager Brian Cashman has heaped praise on Correa, saying in November that negative fan reaction tied to Houston’s sign-stealing scandal was “not going to enter my calculus” and that Correa was “clearly not afraid.”
The 29-year-old Story has played six stellar seasons with the Colorado Rockies and hit .251 with 24 homers and 75 RBIs in 2021, surprisingly remaining in Denver all season instead of being traded to a contender. He could get something similar to Báez’s $140 million, six-year deal with Detroit.
Simmons won the last of his four Gold Gloves in 2018 and batted just .223 with three homers for Minnesota last year.
