Let’s call it like we see it: the 2018 free agent class is subpar. They are holding out for more money that they won’t get and teams are waiting to spend for 2019. There just seems to be a chain of arguments on who is to blame when teams that aren’t trying to go big have an actual reason.
The reason why is actually quite smart. Some of the teams have turned to a philosophy of “we’ll tank some seasons to go bank some seasons.” In other words, teams are willingly want to lose as they rebuild completely in order to win a few years down the road.