The shutdown crisis does not affect the MLB trade market; a renowned journalist uses two trades as evidence.

The existing labor agreement in Major League Baseball will end once this season concludes, with salary cap disagreements increasingly highlighting the possibility of a lockout. Nevertheless, *The Athletic*'s Ken Rosenthal believes that the threat of a work stoppage disrupting the 2027 season will not influence the current trade environment.

In his latest column, Rosenthal wrote that some might assume the potential reduction of games in the 2027 season could serve as leverage for buyer teams eager to acquire stars before this year's trade deadline to negotiate lower prices. In reality, however, the expectation of a lockout does not cause sellers to lower their asking prices.

Why is that? Rosenthal points out that over the past two years, there has been an internal expectation within the league that the 2027 season might lose regular-season games due to a shutdown. Nevertheless, the trades of Brendan Donovan and MacKenzie Gore after last season showed no signs of sellers discounting their demands.

In the Donovan trade, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Jurrangelo Cijntje, who is currently ranked on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, along with Tai Peete, who is now ranked 17th among Cardinals prospects. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals obtained five Rangers prospects in the Gore deal, three of whom were ranked among the Rangers' top 15 prospects last year, including Devin Fitz-Gerald, who also appeared on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list.

Rosenthal noted that during negotiations for these two players, the involved teams did discuss the possibility of a shutdown in 2027, but ultimately it had little impact on the outcomes. He also believes that, leading up to the trade deadline, the best strategy for team executives in negotiations is to act as if the 2027 season will not suffer significant reductions due to a lockout.