What Phillies fans need to know as MLB lockout ends

Play ball!

The lockout is finally over.

After more than three months of bad feelings and two weeks of marathon negotiations in Florida and New York, Major League Baseball and the players' union agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement on Thursday afternoon.

The two sides agreed to continue working on the establishment of an international draft and bridged their final economic gaps on their way to the deal.

There's a lot of ground to cover in detailing what it means for the Phillies and the league as a whole.

When will spring training camps open?

Both sides ratified the deal.

"While the outcome took a bit longer than we had hoped, today is a great day for baseball," Phillies owner John Middleton said. "The new collective bargaining agreement represents progress for all parties involved. I believe with our agreement it will ultimately improve the game for our fans who deserve the absolute best for their patience in this process. 

"Baseball is finally back and I am beyond thrilled that the 2022 season is upon us."

Players can start heading to camps Friday.  Many players are already working out on their own near their spring training camps so they could arrive quickly. Sunday will be the official report date, but getting players in quickly from Latin American countries could be of a hurdle.

Teams will have the month of spring training MLB required to begin the regular season on April 7. The Phillies are scheduled to be off that day. They play their home opener against Oakland on April 8. During the dispute, MLB postponed the first week of games. Those games will be restored. There will be a 162-game season. The Phillies could conceivably play a makeup game in Washington on April 7. 

The scheduling situation is fluid. More will be known in the short term.

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When will the Phillies play their first spring training game?

We should have a clearer picture of that later in the day. Word is there could be a complete redo of the schedule, but there will be spring training games, probably starting around March 18.

What does it mean for front offices, who were unable to talk to free agents or other clubs during the lockout?

Negotiations with free agents and between teams can resume immediately after ratification. Expect a condensed frenzy of activity as front offices make up for a lost hot stove season.

The Phillies had been in talks with outfielder Kyle Schwarber when the game shut down on December 2 and are likely to resume them. Michael Conforto could also be a likely target as the Phils seek a left-handed-hitting outfielder. Kris Bryant? Surely the Phils would gauge his market with agent Scott Boras.

With the signing of reliever Corey Knebel in November, the Phillies have approximately $180 million committed toward their 2022 payroll from a luxury tax perspective. That would conceivably give them room to make a decent free-agent score and remain under the new luxury tax thresholds, reported to be $230 million, up from $210 million in 2021.

They still have other big holes in left field, center field and in the bullpen. With so few free-agent options left in center field, the Phils could turn their attention to a trade. Tampa Bay's Kevin Kiermaier could be someone to keep an eye on.

Signings could come quickly. Groundwork was laid prior to the lockout, and big names that helped set the market -- Max Scherzer, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Javier Baez, Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray -- have already come off the board.

Two star shortstops, Carlos Correa and Trevor Story, are still out there. So are Freddie Freeman and Nick Castellanos, two of the top offensive players in the National League in recent years. 

Freeman's decision will impact the entire NL East, whether he remains with the Braves or is paid more elsewhere.

The new CBA will include a universal designated hitter. Who could fill that role for the Phillies?

Many players could fill the role. The 2021 Phillies were a bad defensive team and will carry over many of the same pieces.

When infield prospect Bryson Stott makes his way to the majors, the Phillies could use Bohm as the DH and play Stott in the field. That could mean Stott plays third base or he plays shortstop and shifts Didi Gregorius to third. Johan Camargo, who has plenty of big-league experience at third base, is another defensive option over Bohm.

On days when the Phillies want to get Rhys Hoskins off of his feet, he can DH with Bohm playing first base.

It's also a useful tool to rest the legs of Bryce Harper or J.T. Realmuto, both of whom dealt with nagging injuries throughout the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

If they sign Schwarber, he is another DH possibility as he is not known for his defensive range.

The playoffs will expand as part of the new agreement

Expanding the postseason was crucial from the league's perspective because of the increased revenues from more playoff series.

This can only be good news for a Phillies franchise that has missed the playoffs 10 straight seasons, the longest drought in the National League. The playoff field will expand from 10 teams to 12 in the new CBA, though it's still not a given the Phillies make it -- remember, they failed to qualify for the postseason in 2020 when the field was increased to 16 teams.

The heat is on manager Joe Girardi, who is entering the final year of his contract. His option was not picked up by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who back in October said he didn't think the lame-duck status would affect his veteran skipper.

"Not with someone with the stature of Joe Girardi," Dombrowski said when the offseason began. "He's been a big-league manager for a long time. I don't think that's an issue for him. I know it's not. We've had some discussions and I've had many managers go into the last year of their contract. In fact, I got to the end with Jim Leyland, where that's all he wanted, one year at a time. So, no I don't think so. I think he'll handle it very well."

If Girardi can't lead the Phillies into another expanded playoff field in his third year ...