MLB memo reveals lockout plans: League will scrub website, ban contact with trainers

[u/TheAthletic]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7670102/2026/10/07/mlb-memo-lockout-plans-teams-players-ban-contact/?unlocked_article_code=1.HFE.MLAw.oo5FFHGPAPWs&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-ta

[u/Extremelixer]

Well that certainly sounds preety close to last time. I fully expect this to be a horribly contentious lockout.

[u/chrismsp]

Well if the Twins think I'm paying for season tickets they are sorely mistaken

[u/DoubleGolfer]

Teams are told they shouldn't even send Christmas cards to their players and their families. Geez

[u/doubleflusher → u/DoubleGolfer]

Yeah - cuz that's the most important part of all this

[u/ViolinKites → u/doubleflusher]

That it’s highlighted in the memo speaks to the callousness of the league’s position. I stand with labor.

[u/From_Adam]

I keep being told there’s “too much money on the line” and there won’t be a lockout/strike. Meanwhile the teams/league appear to be gunning for one.

The optimists are right though. There’s a fuck ton of money on the line and the owners don’t want to pay it to the players. They want nothing more than a salary cap which the players are dead set against. That’s why I’m not optimistic.

[u/Hollywood42cards → u/From_Adam]

Nobody says there won't be a lockout. The "optimists" are just pushing back on the people dooming that the entire season will be canceled

Personally, I'll be shocked if they miss more than a month of games. Even a few weeks would be a lot. At the end of the day, they'll come together and agree to something that doesn't really have any super meaningful changes and they'll kick the can down the road and we'll do all this again in a few years

[u/damnyoutuesday → u/Hollywood42cards]

My prediction is still this get's figured out before scheduled Opening Day, but late enough that Spring Training and some early season games need to be rescheduled/reconfigured.

So basically what happened last time

[u/Zhdrix → u/From_Adam]

A lockout is guaranteed to happen. That doesn’t mean games will be missed. The day after the WS is when the lockout technically would start. I still think games will be missed though

[u/Unfrozen__Caveman → u/From_Adam]

The fact that Milwaukee and Tampa Bay are so good certainly doesn't help the salary cap argument. Also, the Angels being the worst franchise of the past 10 years and selling for $4 billion... I would like it if the Twins could compete with the Dodgers but other teams that spend less than us are on the verge of the WS, so I'm not sure if a salary cap is really the solution. And I worry what it would do to the farm systems, cuz those guys already barely make any money (unless they're a highly touted prospect).

[u/From_Adam → u/Unfrozen__Caveman]

Coming from fans and the idea of being competitive, yes you have an argument. But that’s not the point to the owners, especially all the new ones that are just investment groups, hedge fund managers, etc. As far as they’re concerned they are paying too much for labor. They’ve done things like this across all other industries for decades. The product on the field is secondary.

[u/Hollywood42cards]

This is how lockouts work

[u/radioactivez0r]

Playoff games now have live gambling ("TRADING") updates, so honestly they can do whatever. Pretty sick of the greed in baseball.

[u/cynikles]

MINNESOTA WEDDING RECEPTION — EVENING

PITCHING COACH: Jake! Congratulations, buddy. Beautiful ceremony.

JAKE: Thanks, Coach. Really appreciate you coming.

COACH: My pleasure. Listen, I was thinking about what we discussed last season.

JAKE: Yeah?

COACH: If you tilt your wrist about five degrees and move your middle finger slightly closer to the seam, you might get another couple hundred RPM on that slider.

SIRENS.

MLB POLICE: EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK ON THE FLOOR!

COACH: WHAT THE FUCK?!

AGENT: SIR, STEP AWAY FROM THE PITCHING MECHANICS.

JAKE: IT'S MY WEDDING!

AGENT: We have reason to believe an unauthorised slider adjustment has occurred.

COACH: I WAS JUST TALKING TO HIM!

AGENT: Save it for the arbitrator.

[u/OregonBaseballFan]

Gleeman always shuts down any conversation about this as “there’s too much money on the line and it won’t happen,” but I sure do believe he’s mistaken.

[u/Rhielml → u/OregonBaseballFan]

He's not been saying that games won't be missed. He's been saying that we won't miss the entire season. And I agree with him on that. As in, we might miss a month or three, but not the whole thing.

[u/DJ-Fein]

This is the first time in my life that a league lockout actually conflicts me. I genuinely don’t know if I want it to end with a cap and floor

[u/frankomapottery3]

Literally nothing on offer for the players.  This lockout will be LONG

[u/Neither_Ad2003]

somewhat interesting to read about the memo but not really newsworthy. a lot of jargon and legal mumbo