Executives and agents left baseball's general manager meetings last week more optimistic than they usually are. In recent years, it has felt more common for the sides to talk past one another -- failing to communicate the sort of information that can lead to a free agent signing -- and cause Major League Baseball's winter to grind to a halt before it even begins.
The conversations this year struck a number of people involved as productive. Teams identified their free agent targets. Agents suggested reasonable financial parameters. None of this means a fast-moving market will necessarily follow, but if one were to emerge, the clarity provided by the 72 hours in San Antonio offers a reason.
The likeliest segment of the market to move quickly, both parties suggested, is starting pitching. It's the deepest position in the class, full of high-end, midtier and bargain options. There are one-year, make-good deals to be found on pitchers with Cy Young-level ceilings and short commitment opportunities to land brand-name talent. Pitching will be expensive -- it always is -- but teams have steeled themselves for that.
The top-heavy hitting class could dictate how the rest of the market operates. The finite number of impact hitters can wait until the proper deal materializes, particularly with a paucity of top-tier bats available via trade.
Complicating matters is the collapse of MLB's regional sports network structure. RSN money buoyed the league for the past decade-plus, and the shift of a half-dozen teams to the league running their local TV operations -- and the uncertainty of another half-dozen who either are TV free agents or could wind up without a home amid the legal troubles of Diamond Sports Group, whose financial issues run deep -- means less revenue.
The stark local TV divide grows more obvious by the upcoming Diamond Sports court hearing. The biggest teams -- the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays -- all have stable RSN situations. The number of small-market teams affected by the potential failure of Diamond -- the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays, among others -- only deepens a financial chasm that already existed.
Despite those factors, there are teams ready to spend big in a year with stars such as Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki and Corbin Burnes headlining a strong free agent class. Here is everything you need to know about the winter ahead, from free agent hitting and pitching to the top potential trade options.
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