Unexpected free-agent spending spree likely a sign of things to come

Next winter's free agent class looks to be even thinner than this year's. It is set to include very few superstars in their prime, beyond the Dodgers' Clayton

Robinson Cano signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with Seattle that is tied for the third-largest in baseball history :: Ted S. Warren/AP

Next winter's free agent class looks to be even thinner than this year's. It is set to include very few superstars in their prime, beyond the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Hanley Ramirez and the Tigers' Max Scherzer, and besides, Los Angeles and Detroit may not even allow those three to reach the market. Even so, anyone serviceable who gets there should expect to be handsomely rewarded, as this chaotic winter will likely prove not an outlier but the establishment of a new paradigm: one that is driven by the reality that baseball's teams have more money than they know what to do with.