{"id":659726,"date":"2026-04-02T23:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/659726\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T23:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:02:15","slug":"the-2026-mlb-gifts-we-stand-to-lose-with-an-impending-lockout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/659726\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 MLB gifts we stand to lose with an impending lockout"},"content":{"rendered":"

While MLB and the players union ominously build massive war chests in preparation for a seemingly inevitable work stoppage \u2014 about $3 billion combined, $2.5B for owners, $500M-plus for players \u2014 baseball offered many reasons in its first week back why we\u2019ll miss it if it goes away. And why the sides shouldn\u2019t dare erase games for the first time in 30 years.<\/p>\n

Positive momentum continues to build after a wonderful World Baseball Classic followed a classic World Series. And here are five reasons we can\u2019t take our eyes off this game.<\/p>\n

1. Shohei Ohtani continues to amaze<\/p>\n

The impossibly great Ohtani keeps doing unreal things<\/a>. He hasn\u2019t really started hitting yet, but Ohtani not only has the longest current scoreless streak as a pitcher (22 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings), he has the longest on-base streak (37 games). It will surprise no one if he wins a clean-player record fifth MVP but he\u2019s shooting to win his first Cy Young award, too. In what qualifies as a bold statement by the greatest player since, at least, Babe Ruth, in spring he said of the Cy Young, \u201cIf I can get it, I think that would be wonderful.\u201d Seems impossible. But as one Dodgers person said, \u201cWhat isn\u2019t possible with Ohtani? I think the de-emphasis on innings now definitely gives him a shot if he\u2019s dominant over 25-26 starts.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. The kids are alright<\/p>\n

Reds 1B Sal Stewart and Guardians 1B Chase DeLauter, two Ohio mashers, are leading a special group<\/a>. Cardinals SS J.J. Wetherholt, Mets RF Carson Benge, Tigers SS Kevin McGonigle and Phillies OF Justin Crawford all look like potential stars. And Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter showed he was worth the wait, making good on long-anticipated promise with a shutdown debut. In an extra plus, he seems like a regular guy, having told Philly writers he needed to overcome a Dairy Queen addiction that caused his weight to hit 240 pounds (side note: I\u2019ve also hit my DQ of choice in Pompano Beach, Fla.).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While MLB and the players union ominously build massive war chests in preparation for a seemingly inevitable work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659727,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2380],"tags":[5,135,51,2565,538,381,603,4,17458,468,185,430,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-659726","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-guardians","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-guardians","11":"tag-clevelandguardians","12":"tag-guardians","13":"tag-max-scherzer","14":"tag-mike-trout","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-mlb-lockout","17":"tag-shohei-ohtani","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-sports-columnists","20":"tag-sports-plus"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116337609600774277","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}