MLB Lockout Looms: Players Face Financial Struggles Ahead

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Baseball Lockout Concerns, Salary Floors and Playoff Changes Take Center Stage

A baseball lockout would stop all trades and free-agent signings, bringing the business of the sport to a halt. Shohei Ohtani would reportedly lose $374,000 per day during a work stoppage.

A lockout was described as inevitable, but its duration could depend on the players. The belief is that lower-paid players may eventually give in because there are more players earning $700,000, $2 million or $5 million than there are stars with contracts worth hundreds of millions.

Players on lower-budget teams such as the Reds, Royals, Pirates and Rockies would have a major voice in deciding how long to continue the fight. Those players may be less able to miss weeks or months of pay than stars such as Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker, Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Junior, Jake Cronenworth and Joe Musgrove.

Many players also have significant financial responsibilities. Some support relatives, purchase homes for family members and maintain lifestyles that cannot easily be scaled back when checks stop. Baseball contracts generally guarantee that players will receive the money they sign for, but a lockout would interrupt those payments.

The central issue is getting more money to players at the bottom of the salary structure. That dynamic could lead to a salary cap, although a cap alone would not guarantee parity. A salary floor was described as more important because it would require lower-spending teams to invest more in their rosters.

Requiring teams to spend more could also increase competitiveness. More clubs would enter the market for players, and free agents could consider teams such as the Pirates with greater confidence that those organizations would be able to pay them. Seventeen teams were described as being under the proposed floor.

There is still confidence that baseball will be played in 2027, although the season may not begin normally after spring training. Major League Baseball recently proposed reducing the regular-season schedule from 162 games to 154. The proposal also included expanding the division series to seven games and allowing higher playoff seeds to choose their opponents.

The opponent-selection idea could create intense postseason matchups. Possibilities such as the Dodgers choosing the Padres, the Yankees choosing the Red Sox or the Cubs choosing the Cardinals would add energy and tension to those series.

Once the lockout ends, baseball may need an adjustment or promotional hook to bring fans back. Work stoppages can alienate fans who do not want to watch wealthy players and owners argue over millions of dollars while dealing with high gas prices, food costs and inflation.

The Dodgers were also described as paying more in luxury tax than some teams spend on their entire payroll. That imbalance was cited as another reason the current system needs to change, with a salary floor viewed as the most effective way to raise spending and improve competition across the league.