What I’m Hearing: Evaluating this year's top MLB Hall of Fame candidates. USA TODAY
As major league franchises and their approach toward evaluating free agents evolves, so, too does baseball’s process of free agency, once a free-for-all and now an often grim and protracted affair.
It is equal parts sprint and marathon and death march, depending on where a player lands on the spectrum.
Sprint – for the nearest available deal if you’re a veteran on the wrong side of 30, knowing there’s a finite number of guaranteed jobs available with a cheap and unproven workforce ready to replace you.