In contrast to one of the most exciting regular seasons in recent memory, the Major League Baseball offseason has been extremely dull.
There have only been few teams that have truly improved the quality of their lineups because of free agent signings and trade acquisitions.
The most notable of those came Dec. 6 when Seattle signed five-time All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano to a 10-year, $240 million contract. Cano should be a significant addition to a playoff-starved Mariners team that has missed the postseason each of the past 12 years.
Because they failed to re-sign Choo, the Reds have been one of the biggest offseason disappointments in the MLB, as they also lost backup catcher Ryan Hanigan in a three-way trade that sent him to the Tampa Bay Rays and are likely to lose All-Star starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo to free agency.
However, this offseason’s free agent market was not nearly as strong as years previous, which seems to have resulted in most teams taking a laid-back approach.
Aside from the transactions, there’s been plenty of controversy surrounding the expansion of instant replay and unfortunately, the performance-enhancing drug debate.
Instant replay was a major topic discussed at the winter meetings during December, but the MLB has not revealed many specifics regarding the topic.
Some things that have been discussed include review of catch plays in the outfield, fair and foul and a system for managers that would be similar to the NFL challenge system. The conditions and specifics of the system, however, have not yet been explained in detail.
The league is still seeking support from the MLB Players Association about approving these changes, which would continue the movement toward a more modern brand of baseball as opposed to the traditional human element, which is a whole other heated debate in itself.
This MLB offseason has lacked substance with just a few major transactions going down and only baby steps from the MLB toward rule implementation. Considering the fact that drugs are still the biggest offseason news story only indicates that baseball culture is still far from being centralized truly around baseball itself.
ks363012@ohiou.edu
@kelsey_surmacz4
