On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses the latest with MLB lockout. Commissioner Rob Manfred met with the media on Thursday and expressed optimism about the league and the players reaching a deal in time to begin the season as planned on March 31. Previously, the league had said it would not make a counteroffer to the players' latest offer, but they have since backed off that position, and they plan to make a core economics proposal on Saturday. Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Audacy Sprots reports that the league is expected to make significant concessions in its next proposal.

Manfred also mentioned that the league has "agreed to" a universal DH and the elimination of the qualifying offer. These statements have sparked some confusion; what he meant was that the league has offered those concessions in its rejected proposals. No official agreements have actually been made to this point.

Finally, Ben gets into some mailbag questions. He names Joey Bart, Heliot Ramos, Sammy Long, Camilo Doval, Kervin Castro, Gregory Santos, Sean Hjelle, and others as prospects who could play roles for the Giants this season. Speaking of Bart, he also discusses the Giants' catcher situation, which is much worse off after Buster Posey retired. Bart and Casali is not a strong enough pair at this point, and some kind of additional move (or moves) will need to be made prior to the start of the 2022 season.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices