Top 25 MLB stories of 2017, from Aaron Judge to Houston Strong

21. The Lukewarm Stove

As the calendar prepares to flip to 2018, nearly every big free agent remains unsigned. It’s not just that the premier names like Eric Hosmer, Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas and J.D. Martinez haven’t picked a new team. They’ve barely received any offers.

The offseason has gotten slower each year as most teams become more focused on analytics or building through the farm system. The high number of teams going through a full rebuild culls the number of potential suitors. The luxury tax also plays a part in slowing things down, as does the higher success rate with developing homegrown stars.

Eventually, the dam will break and the big names will sign their new nine-figure contracts, but the days of every big free agent signing before Christmas are over. The Winter Meetings have become a time for teams to fill out the fringes of their roster — get a middle reliever or a fifth starter. That’s the way the market has been playing itself out.

A slower market isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the players. Scott Boras represents a handful of the best players on the free-agent market this year, and he always finds a way to win out in the end. Further down in the pecking order, the platoon outfielders and first basemen could be forced to take less money.