What happened: MLB proposed limiting most signings to several weeks in December before reopening activity in early February, with transactions frozen between those periods. Bruce Meyer said conditioning that calendar on a salary cap would reduce player leverage and pit free agents against one another.

Why it matters: The plan links roster reforms to the central economic dispute in collective bargaining. That linkage widens the divide as the parties negotiate a replacement agreement.

What to watch: Watch whether MLB separates the transaction calendar from its cap-and-floor proposal before the current agreement expires.