Technically, free agency in Major League Baseball began Sunday evening. There was no deluge of activity like the NBA or NFL offer, no dopamine hit of excitement and activity and possibility to start the MLB offseason. Nothing then. Nothing since. And, team officials, agents and players say, nothing particularly substantive anytime soon, either.
There may be the odd free-agent signing or a trade that comes together out of necessity converging with impatience, but this is a perfect storm of transactional paralysis. It's all here, clear as day. The march toward it began long ago, even before the pandemic hit, though that has exacerbated it.