Winter Meetings Mayhem gets spicier with early deadlines
Major League Baseball is heading into December with a post season period highlighting the activity in the format. Top teams in the American League and the National League are looking to cement their conduct in the coming days as the free agency gains momentum.
Every team in the next season will be looking at getting to the playoffs but the task will not be easy as restructuring is required to strengthen the squad.
The San Francisco Giants were successful in clinching the World Series title in 2010 but their bid for 2011 will be even more difficult as teams will look to focus more on their weak areas. The New York Yankees will be the team to look after when the next
campaign starts off in April. However, there is little time for the moves to come through with one to one negotiations. The free agency period will conclude soon and the month of December will further heat up the activity.
The winter meetings which produce quicker results in deciding which players head over to different teams will take place on the 6th of December. Unlike past seasons the meetings come sooner and there is more volatility present in the event as
the deadline period will expire sooner than before. The period for clubs to negotiate with their free agents was cut from 15 to 5 days. The arbitration offer period was moved to the 23rd of November. In addition to that, the arbitration acceptance
offer has now been adjusted to the 30th of November. The non tender deadline has been moved to the 2nd of December from the 12th.
An agent explains the effect: "The Winter Meetings will be a very productive time for everyone. This year, a little more than years, past. The last couple have been kind of quiet. This year should be pretty solid, because everybody who's a free agent is
going to be out there. Everybody who is going to be free will be free at the Winter Meetings. In the past, we had to wait for non-tenders or wait for guys to accept arbitration. But by the time everybody shows up Dec. 6 in Orlando, everybody who's on the market
will be free and on the market."
Though there have been signings made recently, over the past 7 - 8 weeks, they have mostly looked like formalities adjusted to the schedule of the winter meetings rather than the existence of vested interests.
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