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MLB Proposes Three-Week December Free-Agent Window With Cap

8/28/2026

22 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

MLB proposed a three-week December free-agent window tied to a salary cap.
The window opens at the Winter Meetings Monday and closes Dec. 21.
All trades are prohibited from Dec. 21 until the first Monday in February.
Active pitcher limit would rise to 14 and minor-league options would be capped at four per season.
MLBPA interim director Bruce Meyer said the plan would cut player leverage and breach core rights.

History

Historical Context

The reserve clause, first codified on December 6 1879, kept baseball players bound to one team for decades until Curt Flood’s 1969 lawsuit and arbitrator Peter Seitz’s December 23 1975 decision that freed Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally. That ruling led to the 1977 collective-bargaining limit of $1.5 million per free agent and today’s three-week December window, backed by interim director Bruce Meyer and opposed by Commissioner Rob Manfred.

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Story summary

MLB proposed a three-week December free-agent window tied to a salary cap.
The window opens at the Winter Meetings Monday and closes Dec. 21.
All trades are prohibited from Dec. 21 until the first Monday in February.
Active pitcher limit would rise to 14 and minor-league options would be capped at four per season.
MLBPA interim director Bruce Meyer said the plan would cut player leverage and breach core rights.

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