There has been considerable speculation that the upcoming CBA negotiations might be particularly acrimonious. Many players are saying that a strike is inevitable. It is possible that the strong 2019-20 free agent season (billion-dollar Boras!) and the coronavirus wake-up call could reduce this feeling of inevitability, but the fact remains that there are issues to be addressed.
So let’s address some of them.
Pre-arb years
Juan Soto of the Nationals put up 4.8 fWAR in 2019 – making him the 22nd most valuable position player in baseball.