In the midst of another remarkably slow market, a few folks on the players' side whisper a dreaded word -- collusion -- but more seem to mention another one.
Granular.
Every standard operating procedure is being reassessed and re-evaluated, as if all front offices have adopted the mantra once used by former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein as Boston rose with the tide of analytics: "We don't know s---."
For example, agents could expect teams to throw them a negotiation bone when talking about split contracts for veterans invited to spring training on minor league deals, in the form of a $1 million salary if the player was added to the 25-man roster.