All-Star talents Shohei Otani and Pete Alonso need the MLB lockout to end before the season starts or they could lose service time and have their free agency year pushed back.
The MLB lockout is a saga that has no clear end in sight. Earlier this week, the owners and league commissioner Rob Manfred took the bold step of canceling the first two series‘ of the season. After they could not a new collective bargaining agreement done before a self-imposed deadline.
- Shohei Ohtani contract: $5.5 million in 2022, becomes a free agent in 2024
The stunning loss of games even led Los Angeles Angles superstar Mike Trout to publicly bash the owners and Manfred for another failed session of negotiating.
“I want to play. Love our game, but I know we need to get this CBA right. Instead of bargaining in good faith, MLB locked us out. Instead of negotiating a fair deal, Rob canceled games,” Trout wrote in a post to his Twitter account. ” Players stand together. For our game, for our fans, and for every player who comes after us. We owe it to the next generation.”
Shohei Ohtani and Pete Alonso could lose big if MLB lockout drags on
A couple of star players hoping that the situation gets resolved sooner than later are reigning American League MVP Otani, and New York Mets cornerstone first basemen, Alonso. As SNY MLB reporter Andy Martino explained in a Thursday column if a deal isn’t struck before the season, both men could be forced to wait a whole year before landing massive contracts in free agency.
“If this stoppage stretches 15 days into the regular season, Alonso will lose enough service to see his free agency pushed back to 2025 after all. Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty are the only other players in similar situations.”
Martino also mentioned that during the 1995 strike, the MLPBA was able to win back service time lost when a new CBA was agreed to.
- Pete Alonso stats (2021): .262 BA, 37 HRs, 93 RBIs
Ohtani and Alonso are both set to become free agents in the winter of 2024, and if they continue on the same career pace, they each stand to land huge contracts during that offseason.