As we wait to see whether MLB and the players will come together to play a shortened 2020 season, why is this the right time to hold a mock expansion draft here at MLBTR? Well, lots of reasons!
A mock expansion draft serves an interesting thought exercise. If each MLB team were allowed to protect only 15 players, who would be left exposed? Thousands of MLBTR readers have participated in polls over the last few weeks in an attempt to answer that question for each of the 30 teams. Click here to see who’s available in the draft – and be sure to check out both the “By Team” and “By Player” tabs in this Google Sheet. Who would be your top picks? Let us know in the comments.
The current MLB transaction freeze presents a unique opportunity, as team rosters have remained stable to allow us to spend weeks creating protected lists. The unprecedented transaction freeze and lack of games and also means we have less to write about here at MLBTR, and the mock expansion draft helps fill the void.
Also, consider the possibility that MLB might actually be driven to expansion within the next several years as a result of revenue lost to the coronavirus. Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote about this recently, noting that the Rockies and Marlins were born in part as a way for the existing 28 teams to raise cash, speculating that MLB could charge expansion teams a billion dollar entry fee or more per each new team.
