As of early Thursday morning, Major League Baseball has issued a lockout of its players. Since no negotiations, trades or deals can be made, what does the MLB lockout mean for the Yankees?
What happened is the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for baseball ended at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 1. This is what caused the lockout and is the first one since the 1994-95 season.
A lockout in baseball is when all business matters involving the players come to a complete stop. This means that all free-agent signings, trades and deals all stop. Players will not be allowed in any facilities and they are not allowed to have any contact with their team.
This can have an effect on whether or not baseball is going to happen. There are still a couple of months until Spring Training starts in February, when all the payers will look to play either in Arizona or Florida. This gives the owners and players time to figure things out.
The Yankees are in trouble. They didn’t do what fans expected them to and spend money to get big-name players. They really need a shortstop and definitely need another outfielder and pitcher. No team can go wrong with adding pitching. Although it seems as though Gary Sanchez will be their regular catcher with Kyle Higashioka as their back-up, this is not the best option. They should either get rid of Sanchez and keep Higashioka as their starter or go after a better one.
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The Yankees had a chance to acquire Yan Gomes, a free agent who was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009 in the 10th round. He made his debut on May 5, 2012. Gomes played for several teams before being signed by the Chicago Cubs on December 1, 2021. Gomes’ deal is for a guaranteed $13 million over two years. Also, MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal reported that there is an option for $6 million, plus $1 million in performance bonuses each year, which is based on starts.
Gomes would have been a nice fit for the Yankees. Gomes His career batting average is .247. He has hit 117 home runs, has 416 RBIs, 185 walks and 742 hits in 3,006 at-bats. Gomes also struck out 794 times, which is approximately 26 percent of the time, but his defense is good as well. He won the Wilson Team Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2013 when he was on the Cleveland Indians.
Yankee fans are wondering what is happening. The Yankees had their chances to acquire great players. They passed up on RHP Justin Verlander and RHP Max Scherzer. They also lost out on OF Starling Marte and SS Corey Seager. The worst part about this situation is that both Scherzer and Marte are with their cross-town rivals, the New York Mets. That hurts!
Just when everyone thought the Yankees were going to do a “go big or go home” sort of deal, it is the Yankees that never left the couch. Now, what is going to happen about the possibility of getting SS Carlos Correa? If there is any chance of acquiring him, will the Yankees even bother?
The Yankees didn’t seem to try so hard to get Correa before the CBA. It is understandable why he would have been a questionable choice. Being involved in the cheating scandal doesn’t help. It would be interesting to get a player that is so hated by so many, only to be booed even more once joining the Yankees. He may not ever be loved by Yankee fans, even if he produces. Everyone knows New York is rough, especially to play there. The fans will let you know they love you and hate you. It is possible the opposite will happen and Correa will be cheered if he does a great job. That would be worth watching.
Hopefully, this lockout doesn’t cause baseball games to be canceled. It would be nice to see everything work out, with players and owners coming to an agreement. Fans want to see baseball and players want to play. Come February it will either be a continued lockout, or Spring Training will start. This is going to be an interesting couple of months.
Featured Image Courtesy of San Diego Tribune
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