We don't know whether it will happen, even with ongoing labor negotiations inexorably leading toward a lockout. Whether that lockout will be resolved before games are lost (as in 2021) or whether we're staring down another 1994-95 situation remains to be seen. That question will hover over absolutely every discussion this offseason.
I'm going to address this here at the top of my first newsletter of the offseason, and then I'm going to proceed as if this is a normal offseason until I have good reason not to. Some of you are doomers who will comment, "The season isn't happening" on every discussion this offseason, and that's your right, but I'm going to keep approaching this offseason as if things are normal until they aren't. That means I'm going to have my first rankings for 2027 right here in today's newsletter.
And it means I'm going to start rolling out my "State of the Position" series for every position next week, and I'm going to react to whatever roster moves happen with the understanding that it will all matter at some point. This won't be a normal offseason, of course. Sometime in December, there will likely be a lockout, and that will mean a shutdown of league business.
And with a potentially landscape-altering CBA negotiation looming, it might be an especially slow offseason, as teams are hesitant to take big swings without knowing what the next CBA will look like. This is going to be a weird offseason; there's no way around that. But we're not going to let that change how we operate here at FBT.
Whether the MLB season opens as scheduled on March 24 or not won't be determined for months. I'm skeptical we're heading toward a 1994-95-esque shutdown that costs us games, but it's not impossible, obviously. But it isn't inevitable, and there's no reason to treat it as such.
So, with that out of the way, let's take a too-early look at the rankings for 2027. Sure, it might end up being a way-too-early look, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Before we do, I just want to say a big "thank you" to everyone who followed along with the FBT team all season long.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
