The last time Major League Baseball faced any situation similar to the one they face right now, the year was 1994. That year, the 1994 MLB Players' Strike saw a cancellation of 948 games, the cancellation of the World Series, and the longest work stoppage in MLB history.

As of right now, no games are in jeopardy of being canceled as it stands on Thursday, December 2. However, the MLB is now in that dire situation everyone saw coming; as the collective bargaining agreement between the owners and the MLBPA expired at 11:59 PM EST on Monday night, the team governors voted unanimously to institute a lockout, ending a 27-year period of labor peace in baseball.

No one who follows baseball closely should be surprised by this news; the CBA deadline was well-publicized and neither side showed any signs of working out a deal before it expired. The flurry of free-agent signings over the past few days was seen as a clear rush by players, agents and teams to get deals done under the current CBA.

What's next? Let's take a look at what is cooking for the MLB now.

Lights Out

One of the most exciting MLB free agency periods of all time is now over, for the time being. Teams are forbidden from signing players during the work stoppage, meaning any unsigned players will have to wait for a new agreement before they can sign to a new team.

One of the interesting things to see if, and when, free agency does pick back up, how the deals are affected by the new CBA. Deals given to players like Cory Seager, Marcus Semien and even Javy Baez showed the desire to get deals done prior to the lockout may have benefited the players who took those deals.

With the top prize in Carlos Correa still available, it will be interesting to see if the new CBA will allow him to make more money than he would have under the current CBA.

Look Towards February

Both sides seem to have their heels dug in; the owners would rather salaries stay stagnant after the losses they reportedly took during the pandemic, while the players have long been asking for a fairer share of the billions of dollars the MLB is producing.

While early reports signal a contentious negotiation from both sides, it also seems both sides are confident something will get done before spring training. That means talks should really start to heat up in February of 2022.

That could mean a crazy few months leading into the MLB season next year if all goes according to plan. A new CBA could hit sometime in February, opening up free agency for the remaining unsigned players, followed shortly after by the start of spring training. That could be a wild few weeks in the baseball world if it happens that way.