How busy will the MLB offseason be before likely lockout? Insiders weigh in on November’s urgency, uncertainty

Hot stove season is underway in Major League Baseball. And with a lockout looming when the current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, the next four weeks will likely be the only time that teams have to sign free agents, make trades and reshape their rosters before transactions come to a halt.

Want some context into just how much of a mad dash this could become? One brief exchange with a head of baseball operations offered a glimpse. When asked what his club anticipated in the coming weeks, the executive offered only this: "I'm going to stiff arm you on this one," the exec said. "Because I'm time constrained right now. A lot going on with staff and player conversations."

Urgency will play a role this November. Naturally, teams don't want to be left behind. And the way modern baseball conducts business could be challenged.

Over the last five years, the early stages of MLB's offseason have been largely anticlimactic. Front offices, many of which rely on similar analytical models, have increasingly approached the market with caution, contributing to a process that can drag well into the winter.

Even the Winter Meetings, traditionally a gathering place in early December for…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/