If next season is 162 games or something less, teams with an open window for contention will at least try to make major roster moves now instead of waiting for what will surely be a condensed, frenzied window after the new CBA is signed.

The same will be true for players and their agents. Everybody will be out for themselves right up until the lockout starts.

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That was true the last time baseball went through this.

The 2021-22 lockout started Dec. 1 and ended March 10. From Nov. 16 to Dec. 1, Javy Baez (Tigers), Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays), Starlin Marte (Mets), Robbie Ray (Mariners), Eduardo Rodriguez (Tigers), Max Scherzer (Mets), Corey Seager (Rangers), Marcus Semien (Rangers), and Marcus Stroman (Cubs) agreed to deals worth at least $71 million.

Seager (10 years, $325 million) made the biggest splash.

Shortstop Corey Seager made the biggest headlines before the last lockout in 2021, inking a 10-year, $325 million deal with the Rangers. Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

The Red Sox remade their rotation by signing free agents Rich Hill, James Paxton, and Michael Wacha for a combined $22 million. The team announced the signings of Hill and Paxton at 11:16 p.m., 44 minutes before the lockout.

Chaim Bloom was chief baseball officer at the time, a position Craig Breslow now holds. But ownership hasn’t changed. They gave the green light to fill an obvious need in 2021, and now the Sox have a different weakness to fix: a lack of power.

They were 23rd in the majors in scoring last season, 26th in home runs, and 20th in slugging percentage.

Outside of Randy Arozarena and Jake Bauers, the free agent class is largely bereft of impact hitters, although Seiya Suzuki has the righthanded power that would fit the Sox.

Breslow could use the face-to-face time with rival teams this week to put together a trade. With the Dodgers trying to get younger, trading for Teoscar Hernández to DH could fit. Hernández is 34 and signed for $22.2 million for next season with $8 million deferred. He has a team option for 2028.

At this stage of his career, Hernández profiles more as a DH than a corner outfielder. But that option in Los Angeles is blocked by Shohei Ohtani.

Dodgers veteran slugger Teoscar Hernández could be the perfect power bat for the Red Sox next season. Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

With next month’s Winter Meetings sure to be canceled, this week will give Breslow and the Sox a chance to position themselves to make moves before the shutdown.

The biggest free agent prize is lefthander Tarik Skubal, who turns 30 later this month. He is 43-17 with a 2.42 ERA over the last three seasons.

Skubal flourished with the Dodgers after being acquired from the Tigers and was a seamless clubhouse fit. But a return to Los Angeles could be blocked by the Mets, who need front-line starting pitching, or the win-now Cubs.

Don’t discount the Padres. New owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones took over in August, and this is their first chance to make a statement. With Michael King and Nick Pivetta free agents, the Padres could fill a need by signing Skubal and damage the rival Dodgers at the same time.

Skubal is represented by Scott Boras, an agent who traditionally waits out the market for the best deal. But the roadmap is different this year. Boras moved quickly with Seager in 2021, making that deal on Dec. 1.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto landed a 12-year, $325 million deal from the Dodgers before the 2024 season when he came over from Japan. Skubal could top that on a yearly average basis.

Enjoy the hot stove season while it lasts. Come Dec. 2, it will be icy cold for a long time.

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social‬.