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I believe anything is possible, a lot will depend on what the MLBPA want in return. Which leads to the "then I guess there will not be baseball in 2027" statements from both sides.

If there is a true penalty for not hitting the floor those bottom contracts will inflate. It seems possible the average salary may not shift much, with the bottom earning more and the top less.

They said they got it early and the prognosis is very good.

Given our propensity to rush guys to the MLB roster with disastrous results, I can wait. But I agree, they will be special.

Not the floor, the ceiling. If the top teams send out, the top of the market crashes, pushing everything else down.

Anything can happen but I have a hard time seeing the MLBPA agree to any type of cap or floor. it's simply not in their DNA. This gets resolved I think with some smaller concessions on their part and the owners fracturing as they always do.

MAYBE when they got here, but I promise you they quickly learned.

Interesting you think the floor will cause a crash. I am thinking it raises the journeymen while the cap hurts the biggest contracts. I can't imagine the 5 year proposal being implemented, but that would be really interesting to contracts. This may be the first contract negotiations I will actually follow. I do not think a floor will help competitive balance, I just see more Leury Garcia contracts. Guys getting 3/$16 mil instead of 2/$6 mil. You will be correct if history repeats itself. The "Luxury Tax" era showed slower growth. I am certain that is one of the factors the union is considering. Maybe the Sox can steal a free agent or two that they normally would not be competitive with.

"The hell you will!" JR, probably

Catch up to them by hiring away the best and brightest. Pay them whatever they want but get them over here.

Eh... if it was Dick Butkus I would agree with you. But Ditka was more of a global figure. I bet they probably didn't know he played (and revolutionized) TE, but I'd bet the house they all know him as a coach. That '85 Bears team is talked about way too much in nauseum to not know who he is.

This is what should be next... Catching up to these teams.

SS2k5 doesn't need me to speak for him, but he did say he hasn't seen it. He hasn't argued that generic "he sucks" comments can't be driven by any subconscious bigotry. Mention Trevor Bauer, our current president, Gay Pride nights, or a host of other subjects, and some off-center comments come right to the fore and cause a string to be shut down. Schriff is awkward and unknowledgeable. Maybe some get pickier because they won't give him the chance to grow due to his ethnicity. But I've never witnessed that type of ugliness rear it's head here over Schriff's ethnicity. Even argumentative accusations have fallen flat because they're so ridiculous.

I understand the frustration with TEEL but I'm not ready to trade him or give up on him. I would love to see him paired with a Ryan Jeffers.

I liked that he had good and bad uh-ohs

I bet many of these current Bears players don’t even know who Ditka is.

I still miss his “UH-OH!!!” homerun calls. At least if they aren’t that good, they can still be funny as hell. 🤣

I honestly think the tenuous state of his career is part of the reason he is more willing to attack over things that might be costing him opportunities in the future.

I have to imagine with the idea of imposing a top end salary cap, we will see the NYM and LAD of the world sit this one out, or at least not spend on the top end of the market. It might actually be a strategic advantage for teams on the bottom end, if there is indeed a floor coming, to spend now to get above it before prices crash and it becomes harder to hit those numbers.

Imagine how he will be after he retires from baseball without anyone to compete and confront. It's easy to imagine him making headlines.

I can't remember the last time I heard someone complain about Jackson.

The 2026–27 offseason could be one of the strangest free-agent markets we've seen in years. The current collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, 2026, and the possibility of a lockout creates uncertainty for both players and owners. It seems like some guys will try to sign early especially the bigger money guys. The journeymen may want to wait. I could also see aggressive teams wanting to increase their payroll before a cap. Regardless they will play the usual brinkmanship game of threatening to lose a season etc.

I don't think the Guardians threw many elite arms at us in game 3 and we still struck out 19 times.

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/dodgers-will-have-conversation-about-benching-shohei-ohtani-as-stars-struggles-continue-this-postseason-123814688.html

I'm certain JR would accept your generous offer. I'll be surprised if he doesn't find a home for a few million in that role.