Pie fights amid the holiday lights. The pending MLB lockout explained.

LOS ANGELES — The New York Mets committed $130 million to pitcher Max Scherzer, who will be 40 when his new contract ends. The Tampa Bay Rays committed $182 million to shortstop Wander Franco, who is 20 and has played 70 major league games.

The Angels committed $21 million to pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who has pitched two innings over the last two seasons.

In a 24-hour span through Monday afternoon, the Texas Rangers committed $561 million to four players, more than half of that to now-former Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager. In the month before major league owners are widely expected to lock out their players, the owners have committed close to $2 billion in player contracts.

This is not a picture of a business in financial distress.

Yet, with baseball's collective bargaining agreement set to expire Wednesday, owners could shut down the sport as soon as Wednesday night. Questions and answers