Hey, did you know MLB has a lockout going on?
That was sarcasm, in case you didn’t already guess. We’ve been seeing it coming since the last CBA five years ago, so its arrival shouldn’t come as a surprise. There are the usual grumbles of “billionaires vs. millionaires,” complaints about the lack of a salary cap, and all the stuff that make ESPN and the Athletic (and BD, LOL) salivate because content, that’s why.
What should be of interest to Pirates fans?
Players feel, with the emergence of analytics within front offices, that fewer and fewer second- and third-tier players are getting paid when they finally become free agents after six years of major league service time, which is often when a player turns 30 or very close to it.