Chris Russo confident in 2027 MLB season as lockout looms: ‘Nobody’s smarter than Manfred’

As the threat of a lockout during the 2027 Major League Baseball season casts a black cloud over the sport, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo remains confident they will play.

Almost everyone agrees baseball is heading for a lockout later this year, with the current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association set to expire after the 2026 season. Ken Rosenthal previously put the odds of a lockout as high as 90 percent on the Awful Announcing Podcast.

The question is whether games will be missed. And as long as a salary cap remains at the center of the CBA negotiations, there will be a legitimate concern about losing games, maybe even an entire season. Russo, however, joined Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber on WFAN this week, where he expressed confidence in commissioner Rob Manfred’s ability to get a deal done.

“I could see losing a month. I can see May 1st, but I got confidence in Manfred,” Russo said. “He’s been part of that labor negotiation since ’95. They have not had a strike. They have not missed a game since. His legacy is in ’29 (when Manfred is expected to retire); he knows that. I think it will go down to the bitter end.”

Russo is not concerned about Manfred, but he is concerned about interim MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer, who was appointed one day after Tony Clark resigned following more than a decade in the role.

“Bruce Meyer thinks he’s Marvin Miller,” Russo ranted. “That’s a problem. He likes to litigate. That’s a major problem. I don’t have any confidence in the players association, zero. But I think at the end of the day, the commissioner will figure something out.”

Russo reiterated he doesn’t think a deal will be reached anytime soon, predicting we’ll be sitting here in March wondering about the future of next season, but he expects to have regular season games by May.

“Here’s the difference between past years. Players with [Gene] Orza, [Donald] Fehr, they used to be smarter than the owners,” Russo claimed. “Selig was not a lawyer. They were smarter. Now, from an owner perspective, nobody’s smarter than Manfred. He went to Harvard Business School. Dan Halem, his right-hand man, [is] one of the smartest guys in the world.

“The owners from a legal labor standpoint are equal to the players, and the players are not going to be able to go to the courts – you got a Republican White House – to get bailed out as they did in ’95. But I do think the whole thing comes down to Manfred, and I think he knows he’s got to play. And I think at the end of the day, they will play.”

Russo admitted he didn’t have any insight into negotiations; he also didn’t have a possible resolution to the salary cap gripe. MLB owners are more united than they ever have been in wanting a salary cap for the sport. The MLBPA, however, remains one of the strongest unions in American history and has been steadfast against a cap.

But Russo did claim players should be more desperate for a season than the owners, because more than half the players earn the league minimum salary. The owners, meanwhile, can recoup lost revenue with expansion teams. But expansion will do little to win back the fans. MLB has been in a growth period in recent seasons, and a canceled season will undoubtedly cause irreparable harm with its fanbase.

Manfred is not a popular commissioner, but his legacy will be destroyed if a season is canceled over a salary cap dispute near the end of his tenure. If he can help save the season, however, Manfred can use that as part of his lasting legacy.