Oakland A’s face tough decision before CBA expires

The Oakland A’s know exactly what they plan on doing this offseason. Barring a sudden change of heart, or the current ownership selling the team to someone that is willing to spend on the roster, the A’s are going to tear it all apart. The roster will look completely different come Opening Day 2022.

There is just one small problem. The Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after December 1, leading to a potential lockout by the owners. If that happens, teams will not be able to make trades or sign players. This leaves the A’s with a potential time crunch in terms of making a deal.

Oakland A’s in tough spot for making deals

That is not the only potential roadblock in the A’s way. There is uncertainty as to the structure of the CBA as well, as Major League Baseball had proposed a salary floor as a way to avoid tanking. While the Player’s Union is against such a provision as they feel it is a way to eventually bring in a salary cap, they are also looking for ways to force teams to try to compete.

Meanwhile, other teams are filling holes and making moves before the current CBA expires. The likes of Eduardo Rodriguez and Noah Syndergaard have already come off the market. The Reds have been shedding salary and are looking to move virtually everyone as well. This would seem to be a seller’s market.

But the A’s have to contend with the potential of a floor. They may end up having to keep players just because they would be under the required salary threshold otherwise. This puts the front office in a tough spot – to sell or not to sell.

The Oakland A’s are going to sell as many players as they can. It is just a matter of knowing what the threshold is and how low they can go.