Evan Drellich | The Athletic $: MLB and the MLBPA had a 90-minute ‘heated’ meeting on Tuesday. The two parties negotiated the values ​​of the proposed bonus pool before arbitration, and the union proposed a system to give players a year of service if they reach certain performance thresholds. An agreement is not close, and a delay in the season seems inevitable.
Dan Szymborski | FanGraphs: The off-season is far from over, and several teams still have a lot of work to do when / if the exclusion ends. The spate of activity in November has shaken things up in the National League, and ZiPS is projecting some tough races.
Marc Normandin | Baseball Prospectus $: It is worth mentioning that the bonus pool will be awarded before arbitration on the basis of WAR. There are some obvious pitfalls with that plan, as WAR is an inaccurate measure, and even though the bonus money has already been paid, teams will still have financial incentives to prevent players from earning this extra money as they may be less likely to to take team-friendly extensions.
