SAN DIEGO — Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, like so many of his industry peers, often remarks how deadlines spur action. Trade talks can idle or yo-yo, simmer or dwindle, and then right around July 31st the trade deadline arrives, the market buzzes like a startled hive, and deals get done.
The offseason is more chill as neither the trade winds nor free agent bidding has any rigid deadline other than the start of a season several months away. As close as the winter gets to that summer boil is something Major League Baseball has not convened in three years.