MLB Hot Stove could get frozen by potential work-stoppage

MLB’s hottest Hot Stove season is looking like it will be stopped cold in its tracks.

Reports on Monday show that a work stoppage in Major League Baseball is almost certain to take place on December 2nd, the start of the new league year. This would be the ninth stoppage in MLB history and the first in twenty-six years.

The labor contract between owners and players is set to expire, and there is no sign of a handshake taking place on a new collective bargaining agreement anytime soon. With so much in the air, owners and front offices are extremely hesitant to spend big money on big free agents without knowing the long-term effect it will have on their pocketbooks.

Big-name free agents like Carlos Correa, Max Scherzer, Kris Bryant, and Trevor Story might be waiting longer than they’d like to sign and get their big (and well-earned) pay raises.

There are several things that need to be agreed upon in order to move forward on a new deal

For instance, surrounding the issue of salary arbitration for players being under team control for the first six years of big-league service, the teams have offered to completely rid that rule that has been in place since 1976 and replace it with making players eligible for free agency the offseason after turning 29 1/2 years old. This is something the players would consider, however, the teams have paired that with lowering the luxury tax threshold, ultimately lowering the payroll floor. This is obviously something the players will not go for.

This is just one example of the numerous things on the table that need to be agreed upon, and as you can see, the two sides are working as one like fire and ice. Eventually, things will get worked out and there will be baseball, but there is a concern that negotiations will go on into Spring Training and maybe even the regular season.