BREAKING NEWS: The MLB and The MLBPA Have Tentatively Reached An Agreement: The Lockout Is Over
As first reported by Jeff Passan at ESPN, the MLB and the MLBPA have tentatively reached an agreement on Thursday, March 10th. Once this agreement is ratified (which is a simple formality) the lockout will be lifted, and baseball will be back. UPDATE: It was just announced that opening day will be April 7th, 2022.
The last four words of that sentence are literally sending a shiver down my spine–I’ll be honest, I never thought I would read them. The way this lockout has been going, I thought we were going to lose the entire year. However, it seems the two sides have (at least for now) been able to figure something out, and we may even be able to squeeze in the full 162 game schedule (even though Manfred canceled the first two weeks).
The new five-year CBA is expected to include increased minimum salaries, new pre-arbitration rules, a universal DH, a draft lottery, and an evaluation of an international draft.
It’s still very fresh news, so we don’t know much about the agreement at this point. But what we DO know is that very soon, the free-agent signing frenzy will be back underway, as there are several stars still without a home:
- Freddie Freeman
- Anthony Rizzo
- Kris Bryant
- Carlos Correa
- Trevor Story
- Nick Castellanos
- Nelson Cruz
- Zack Greinke
- Clayton Kershaw
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Before you get excited and run to your local sportsbook (or just open up an app, what is this 2018?) to place your MLB futures bets, I would wait and see just how free agency pans out. We’ve already seen some free agency signings drastically change lines–I mean, the Mets practically became the World Series frontrunners out of the NL thanks to Max Scherzer.
Speaking of sportsbooks, I’m sure they are all happy that baseball is returning. Baseball is one of the most bet on sports in the country, and I’m sure a lot of sports betting markets will be relying on its jam-packed schedule to keep the bets rolling in.
Be sure to check back regularly with Oddseeker, as we will soon be announcing our favorites to win the World Series, as well as any other MLB and sports betting news you may find yourself needing.
