How the Milwaukee Brewers have been affected by the MLB Ineligibility

Major League Baseball has banned players because the collective agreement has expired. What does this mean and how does it affect the Milwaukee Brewers?

Years of growing frustration by the players’ union against team owners has ended nearly three decades of industrial peace. This is the first time since the 1994 strike that MLB has stalled completely due to industrial action.

The team owners have several sticking points and things they want, while the players also have priorities that they want to address in this next CBA. At the moment the two sides are too far apart to reach an agreement and a lockout has begun.

What happens during an MLB suspension?

Everything stops.

Trades, free agent signings, contract extensions, everything comes to a standstill. A transaction freeze has been imposed and after the onslaught of signings and moves in the days leading up to the lockdown, it will now be completely silent.

Until an agreement that could take months.

Players cannot use team facilities either. This also includes the rehabilitation of players who lose their access to the team’s doctors and sports coaches.

Do you remember the last few years when freedom of action was excruciatingly slow? It will be, except that no moves are allowed and both the players union and the MLB share suggestions on how the game can be changed.

How does the MLB suspension affect the Milwaukee Brewers?

The above points, which apply as a whole from this blocking, apply to the brewers. Crew players cannot train at the team’s Milwaukee or Phoenix facilities. You can’t work with the Brewers’ athletic training staff. The contact with coaches and executives is as good as ceased.

David Stearns will not be able to make a deal or sign a free agent for the 40 man roster, and as the roster is currently structured, he will remain in place for the remainder of that suspension.

The brewery owner Mark Attanasio is on the powerful labor policy committee of the MLB and is involved in the negotiations with the MLBPA and tries to reach an agreement. Attanasio will obviously keep the interests of the Milwaukee Brewers in focus in his role. Membership on this committee may or may not help limit the negative impact a new CBA has on Milwaukee if Attanasio is strongly opposed to something, but this lockout is about more than just the Brewers.

Entering a lockdown now has no major immediate impact on the brewers. There are no games planned for months and there is currently no risk of losing revenue. You can still sell merchandise in the Team Store and sell tickets as usual.

All the time you can work with this lock can also elongate it longer. Things are unlikely to move until both sides are in danger of losing money, which will not happen until we get close to spring training.

So the lockout itself doesn’t have a bigger impact on the Brewers than on any other team right now. How breweries will really be affected depends on what changes will actually be made in the next CBA when it is finally agreed.

Both sides have made substantial changes to the game of baseball as we know it. The league’s entire financial and salary structure could change. There could be a salary floor, draft order changes, division alignment changes, extended playoffs, the DH in NL, a minimum salary increase, former free agencies for younger players, etc. These or other changes may or may not be made. And each change would affect the Brewers in a different way.

Some changes might make it better for brewers, others might make it harder for them. We won’t really know until the final deal is agreed.

It’s unfortunate that things have gotten to this point, but players have some legitimate reasons to get upset about the league and some changes are long overdue. We don’t yet know how they make them.

It is important to know that it is not time to panic. Games are currently in no danger of being lost, and will not be for a while. The only thing changing for the fans right now is signings and trading stalling. As soon as the CBA is approved, they’ll be right back at it. As long as they’re signed before the opening day, it doesn’t matter when they sign.

Don’t panic, no stress. These two teams have a lot of money in the game and don’t want to risk losing anything or ruining potential sales opportunities. It is likely that something will be agreed before either side loses money.

Let’s just hope that the deal that both sides ultimately agree will help move the game in a positive, healthy direction and improve the working relationship between these two sides.