CARLSBAD, Calif. — With the first in-person offseason meetings for Major League Baseball in 23 months set to commence, the biggest topic facing the industry may dominate a lot of the conversation but not the immediate transactions — not yet.
Business as usual, a few executives said when asked.
The annual general manager meetings begin, formally, on Tuesday at a Carlsbad resort with three weeks to go before the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. If ongoing negotiations between the players union do not arrive at an agreement before the deadline, a transaction freeze is expected, and a lockout looms.