On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses Major League Baseball's owners initiating the sport's first work stoppage since 1994. He discusses the statements from MLB and the MLBPA, how we got here, and what's likely to happen next. Ben is not optimistic about anything positive getting done for quite some time, and he worries about the very real possibility of games being lost in 2022.

Next he discusses the frenzied activity that preceded the lockout. He explores free-agent spending by team, and looks at the San Francisco Giants' spending. Many fans seem to be upset that the team hasn't shopped at the top of the market so far this winter, but they can't be accused of not spending money. They're in the top 25% of teams in terms of spending this winter, and they're top 10 in spending the last two offseasons combined. No, they're not the top spending team or even top five, but they're distinctly in the upper tier and well above the league mean and median.

Lastly, Ben takes a look at some of the free-agent starting pitcher classes of years past. From five years ago, it's shocking who were considered the best starters. Ben reminds fans that Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija were big name acquisitions at the time, but neither contract worked out remotely as hoped. He looks at more recent signings like Dallas Keuchel, whom Ben compares to Marcus Stroman. There's a clear trend that starters break down quickly, either with injuries, poor performance, or both. Therefore, it's not shocking that the Giants haven't appeared eager to spend big/commit many years to top-of-the-market free-agent starters.

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