Baseball Is Back

The MLB lockout is over, and teams can now officially ramp up for Spring Training. Loose ends still need to be tied up.

The work stoppage came to a conclusion on March 10th, and Spring Training will begin shortly. As of March 11th, the only free agent to sign has been Carlos Rodon, who came to terms with the San Francisco Giants on a 2-year, $44 Million contract. While big name players signed massive contracts before the lockout including the likes of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien (Rangers), Max Scherzer (Mets), Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays), Robbie Ray (Mariners), and Javier Baez (Tigers), the FA market still includes very impactful players who may be on the move.

The best players available, in no particular order, are as follows: Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa, Anthony Rizzo, Trevor Story, Clayton Kershaw, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Seiya Suzuki, and Kenley Jansen.

Outside of a March 11 report that Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers were expected to agree on a new deal, which can mean anything in the realm of MLB, there has been no indication yet of where any of these guys will land.

Expect some ripples in the baseball media river over the next week.

The DH is officially gone, which should increase offensive firepower greatly in the National League, who had the DH in 2020, but that's about it for its history. There is now no incentive for offensive specialists to stay in the AL, and no one will have to claim that pitchers bunting is a good strategy, or at least one better than having a power hitter occupy an extra lineup spot.

Another new addition to MLB is an expanded postseason, similar to the format from 2020, but with 12 teams instead of 14. Here's a breakdown of how seeding works:

The team with the best overall record in each league will occupy the 1 seed. The 2 seed will be the second-best record in each league, but only if they won their division.

For instance, last season we saw the Giants and Dodgers have the two best records in the National League at 107 wins and 106 wins, respectively, but since they play in the same division, the Dodgers had to partake in the Wild Card game. If something like this happens again this upcoming season, the Dodgers, or whoever is in that position, would be relegated to a lower seed.

The 3 seed will be the division winner with the lowest record in each league. The 4-6 seeds will be the teams with the best records who did not win their division.

There will also be no Game 163 if multiple teams are tied in record for the division lead. Instead, MLB is adopting a system similar to the NBA in which statistical tiebreakers will be utilized, like winning percentage against a team's division. Official details on this process continue to be released.

To recap:

1 seed: Division winner with best overall record

2 seed: Division winner with second best overall record

3 seed: Division winner with third best overall record

4 seed: Non-division winner with best overall record amongst non-division winners

5 seed: Non-division winner with second best overall record amongst non-division winners

6 seed: Non-division winner with third best overall record amongst non-division winners

Additionally, the top 2 seeds in each league will get a first-round bye.

The first round, likely to be named the Wild Card Series, will be the 3 seed hosting the 6 seed and the 4 seed hosting the 5 seed in a best of 3 series.

The formats for the following rounds (LDS, LCS, WS) will remain the same.

This format with more teams spawns more games, which in turn creates more TV revenue for MLB and more fun for fans, so it seems like a good move on the whole.

Welcome back, baseball. We were worried about you.