Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers aren’t looking ahead to the 2027 season just yet. They’ve just won the first World Series title in franchise history, and there’s plenty to celebrate.
Still, baseball faces a consequential offseason. The current collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1, and the 2027 season cannot proceed unless the league and players reach a new deal.
A delay is possible, but Yelich sounded hopeful when asked whether he expected the season to start on time. He said that was the goal, while acknowledging that the offseason could be an interesting one.
Yelich added that starting the season on schedule was what everyone hoped for. He made the comments while celebrating with Brewers fans at a victory event in Greendale, Wisconsin.
Before Milwaukee clinched the championship in Game 5, Yelich had also said baseball was in a strong place and that missing games would be a shame.
He knows negotiations can drag on. The last CBA was finalized in March 2022, after a tense winter in which owners and players appeared far apart. Spring training lost several weeks, and the regular season began on April 7 instead of March 31.
Even during that dispute, teams continued signing players and committing major sums to contracts. The Minnesota Twins signed Byron Buxton, the Texas Rangers added Corey Seager, and the Toronto Blue Jays brought in Kevin Gausman. This offseason’s prominent free agents include Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, Seiya Suzuki and Michael King.
At the heart of the current negotiations is how teams spend. Owners are pushing for a salary cap and a minimum payroll, arguing that the wide differences in team spending need to be addressed.
Players have opposed a cap, calling it unacceptable. They have instead sought broader free-agency and salary-arbitration rights, a higher minimum salary, and a tax on teams that fall below a specified payroll level.
The Brewers won 103 games in the regular season with a payroll around the middle of the league. Their World Series opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays, had one of baseball’s three lowest payrolls and finished with the American League’s best record.
Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, MLB has no salary cap. The sides found a way through their differences in 2022, but some observers expect these negotiations to be more difficult.
The players’ union is also entering talks with new leadership. Bruce Meyer, a former All-Star infielder who led the players’ negotiating team in 2022, has taken over after Tony Clark’s departure. Owners and Commissioner Rob Manfred, meanwhile, appear firm in their positions.
By Dec. 2, it should be clear whether owners have imposed a lockout. The bigger uncertainty is whether it would last long enough to affect the regular season. Yelich believes both sides want baseball to start on time, but a breakdown in negotiations could put games at risk, as happened in 1994.
