Turning 30, Niko Goodrum unlikely MLB lockout poster child

Former Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins utility player Niko Goodrum turns 30 today. Rather than celebrate his milestone birthday at a spring training site somewhere with his new team, Goodrum, like the rest of us, waits for the MLB lockout to be over.

Niko Goodrum is symbolic of many players just waiting for the MLB lockout to be over

His story is similar to many Major League players who aren’t Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa, or Trevor Story. In his five-year MLB career, Goodrum has been decent but not great, yet can provide a cost-effective, versatile option for a team looking to fill a position. He’s played every position except for catcher and pitcher in his career while piecing together a slash line of .230/.303/.396 in 387 career games.

Dropped from the Detroit Tigers‘ 40-man roster back in November, Goodrum recently said that he had seven teams that were looking to offer him an MLB contract … before the lockout hit. Now, on his 30th birthday, he waits to see which of those teams will be interested and make a move once the MLB lockout ends.

Last season, in his first year of arbitration, per his Baseball-Reference.com page, Goodrum made $2.1 million. It’s possible he could take a pay cut this season after a pair of down years (a combined .203/.282/.350 in 2020 and 2021) that necessitated Detroit moving him off the roster.

Goodrum will be looking to prove he can add value to a team while his next team will be looking to see if he can do that at a price that fits their budget. It’s a dance that was going strong until the music stopped on December 1.

Now Goodrum, like the rest of us, waits.

While much is made about the amount of money lost per game by some of the MLB players with the biggest contracts, there are plenty of players like Goodrum with smaller salaries and a less certain future who are impacted by the MLB lockout in what could be argued is a bigger way.

Sure, we’re tracking plenty of the big name free agents still remaining and where they will sign. But there are also plenty of role players, like Niko Goodrum, waiting their turn to see what the future holds after the MLB lockout ends and the next Collective Bargaining Agreement begins.