Lost amid all the NFL lockout and NBA negotiations going on is that baseball's own Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in December. That means owners and players have been negotiating a new one.
↵Notice I said "negotiating" and didn't get all crazy, thinking there would be a labor impasse in baseball. That's because there aren't any real sticking points to these negotiations. Money isn't an issue, since the money split is pretty good right now. Some teams probably don't get as much money and other don't like the luxury tax, but everyone is profitable.
↵That means all that's left is the draft. It doesn't appear we'll get an international draft out of it, but compensation picks could be dramatically changed. Type A free agents will get re-evaluated, especially after Tampa Bay had 45 picks in the first round last year.
↵It's a little thing and won't hold up negotiations very long, but things will probably get changed up a lot. That will also likely impact what kind of compensatory pick Houston gets for shortstop Clint Barmes, who achieved Type B status. But, I expect the owner's meetings next week may feature a new CBA to ratify as well.
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