Within moments Monday of two Cardinals executives telling fans all about the towers going up, the hotel coming in, and the apartments leasing out at Ballpark Village, Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and his son, team President Bill DeWitt III, fielded the question preoccupying baseball: What is going on with the free-agent market?
Two young, megawatt stars, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, remain unsigned as February approaches, as do dozens of talented players who would boost contenders. Teams are spending less on free agents, contracts are getting shorter, agents seem to be waiting longer, and the one-time kings of winter, those seasoned vets, are frozen out.