When (and if) baseball resumes in 2022, general managers will work a lot like NFL coaches at the outset of games, with their first moves scripted. At the transaction kickoff, you can almost imagine Red Sox honcho Chaim Bloom, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and their peers staring down laminated cards, playcalling into headsets.

Baseball execs have had nothing to do but plan for more than two months. Similarly, agents have spent days plotting their first phone calls after business resumes — and when (and if) it does, there will be a hurricane of activity.

Here is some of what is expected by many in the industry:

1. Freddie Freeman signs quickly.

The presumption among a lot of rival executives last year was that Freeman and the Braves would eventually work out a deal. But Freeman was not among the stars who signed a pre-lockout contract — even after the Braves won the World Series and the franchise operated with the championship glow (and cash injection). So the industry view has shifted; there is a growing belief that Freeman will land somewhere outside of Atlanta because of the standoff in his negotiations. The Braves offered $135 million over five years, sources say, and Freeman is looking for a six-year deal.

"I think [the Braves] will move quickly to settle on an alternative and move on to get past the conversation," one official said.

Maybe that's a deal for Oakland's Matt Olson. Maybe they'll sign Anthony Rizzo. But the Freeman negotiations became a competition, and as one agent said, you never want to do that.

Freeman would be a perfect fit for just about any lineup, especially with the universal designated hitter likely to be used in the National League in 2022. Even a team with an established first baseman could envision Freeman splitting time between DH and first base.

But as great as Freeman is as a hitter and a clubhouse presence, there probably aren't many teams in position to spend big money on a 32-year-old first baseman. The left-handed hitting Freeman would help to balance the Yankees' very right-handed lineup, and he would probably enjoy swinging into the cozy confines of Yankee Stadium's right-field dimensions. If Hal Steinbrenner chooses to operate within the limits of the competitive balance tax threshold, as he did last year, Cashman may not have the space for another big-money deal. The Yankees already have significant investments in Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton, and the club's intention is to work to retain Aaron Judge, as his foray into free agency looms next fall.

For Freeman, the most likely alternative to the Braves might be the Dodgers. Some agents believe Andrew Friedman, the head of baseball operations for L.A., would never devote a six-year deal to a first baseman entering the back half of his career. "But a shorter term deal that's really lucrative — I could see that," said one agent, positing a four-year, $140 million contract as more workable for L.A.

Wherever the future Hall of Fame inductee lands, folks in the industry believe it'll happen swiftly.

2. The Oakland Athletics will execute a major subtraction.

The industry perception is that Oakland had offers for the likes of Olson and Matt Chapman before the lockout, and that the Athletics will be ready to knock out a series of deals swiftly once teams are given the go-ahead to execute transactions. There appears to be robust interest in Olson among the Braves, Yankees, Rangers and others.