Jim Duquette

No, I think that it's, for the most part, business as usual.

And I've talked to a lot of the GMs recently, and as much as they'll talk about it, because they don't really talk about it overall, but even off the record, I think when it comes to the trade deadline, in terms of just

maybe acquiring free agents to be, the players that'll be free agents at the end of this year, like a Scooble, as you mentioned, or others like that, guys that might opt out at the end of the contract at the end of this year.

Those type of guys, they'll be on the move.

I think where I am getting some wind of in what my maybe concern would be if you're trading for a player that has another year of control.

So

Let's take a player that I'm trying to think of.

Freddie Peralta is a guy that's a starter who will end up becoming a free agent at the end of the year as well.

But I'll give you an example locally here in Baltimore, Adley Rutschman.

Okay, that's good.

I don't think he's going to be traded, but let's just say the Orioles, their season got off the rails and they decided they're going to trade him.

He's a free agent at the end of 27th.

You know, he's going to require somebody, a team, if you need a catcher, to give up quite a bit of talent in return.

Would you want to be giving up – how much would you be willing to give up for the 2027 control of Adley Rutschman when there's no certainty of how many games you're going to play?

Mm-hmm.

Like, are you going to give up, you know, two extra prospects and we don't play the 2027 season?

That doesn't make any sense.

And so, you know, teams are starting to kind of sort through that and they might just limit it and say, you know what, I'm not going to acquire anybody that has multiple years of control because of the uncertainty and the labor, you know, negotiation.

That is where I think it might affect teams, you know, in the short term.

I could see, if they'd say that they were to agree to some sort of cap.