Major League Baseball's hot stove hasn't heated up this offseason, with more than 100 free agents still available less than a month before spring training games begin.
Eno Sarris of The Athletic has studied and written about the current financial state of MLB and clubs' approach to free agency. He spoke about the plodding market and its ramifications in future collective bargaining discussions on The Bat Around with Stan "The Fan" Charles Jan. 12.
The 2018 season was one of the first times major league teams spent less in free agency than the prior year, Sarris said. Payroll expenditures declined $18 million from the 2017 season to 2018, a relatively small amount in the industry but significant nonetheless.
