The Dallas Morning News’ Texas Rangers beat writer Evan Grant discusses the ball club’s notable offseason and the labor dispute that could pour cold water on the excitement.
There was barely time to disinfect and sanitize the dais. Not even 15 hours after the Rangers finished off their parade of $561 million worth of free agency signings, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stepped up the very same podium and spilled cold water all over whatever the Rangers may have had brewing.
Welcome to baseball’s first work stoppage in 26 years.
Technically, the name for this is a lockout. It’s an ownership-imposed shutdown. It is, Manfred explained, all about making sure that small market teams can compete economically. He said this after teams spent $1.7 billion in free agency over the last month. The Rangers, who twice in the last three years had one of the 10 lowest payrolls in the game, led all spenders in November. Somehow, they figured out how to compete.
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