ESPN.com Baseball Writer Jesse Rogers
OVERALL THOUGHTS: In some ways it was surprising that it came together so quickly, but not really. WE knew urgency would be achieved when deadlines approached. I gotta commend the union, they didn’t blink when the league put out its first deadline last week and just held out for a better deal and they did get one. I don’t think it’s the best possible deal they could have had, and maybe that’s why it’s a negotiation. I’m a little concerned there’s a not more to de-incentivize tanking. They have the lottery draft, and that helps, but it’s not going to change how teams act, especially those mid to small market teams, but in the end there was compromise.
Brewers Extra Innings Host Matt Pauley
EXPANDED PLAYOFFS: The owners really wanted 14 teams and I think what Major League Baseball players were doing here is, they wanted to keep a couple things in their pocket to use for leverage five years from now. The fact that it’s a 12 team playoff and not a 14 team playoff I guarantee you the players will use that as a bargaining chip five years from now. At 12 teams in the playoffs it really does feel like it’s a lot easier to get in and the big question is going to be are owners and teams no longer as motivated to put as good of a team on the field as possible because the barrier to entry to the postseason is going to be lower.
Brewers Radio Network play-by-play announcer Jeff Levering
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION: I think a lot of these free agents will be swooped up fairly quickly. There will be a couple of the high ticket guys that wait a little while until they sign but it’s going to be a bonanza and I’m all here for it. It’s positive news, it’s really positive news that we can be talking about free agent signings and trades and things of that nature instead of collective bargaining agreements and competitive balance taxes and all those other things.
