Why MLB needs to fix its interminable slog of an offseason

Here’s how the offseason should work: Free agents are wooed in November amid rampant speculation. Some sign. Some hold out for more. It all comes to a head in early December at the winter meetings, which become a bona fide event as the race to build rosters reaches a frenzy.

When the winter meetings end, the offseason ends. Phillies president Dave Dombrowski has advocated a signing deadline for years, in part because front offices need a break, but also because let’s get on with it already.

“Only our sport is like this,” he said during his Red Sox tenure.