Winners and losers of MLB's pre-lockout free agent spree: Two star shortstops must wait to cash in

Three weeks of furious transactions left Major League Baseball’s off-season looking like a half-complete high rise of luxury condos. The towers stretch to the sky, the glassy exterior taking shape, yet cranes and scaffolding indicate plenty of work remains.

Now, an MLB-imposed lockout ensures no one will be living, working and playing inside anytime soon.

Still, plenty of work was done before Wednesday night’s expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, as more than $1 billion in free agent dollars were distributed and multiple trades took place before the deep freeze was ordered. This creates an unusual, though not unprecedented, off-season in which the work will be done in two phases, with plenty of superstars still for the taking.

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