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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Ben Goessling, MASN: The new CBA, the Nationals and the end of signability

So what will it mean for the Nationals, now that they’re picking later in the draft than they have before? Well, in the short-term, they won’t be at as much risk of losing their first-round pick for signing a Type A free agent as they would have been under the old system. But it seemed less likely they were going to pursue a big-name free agent this year than they were last year anyway. This has been a team built on scouting and development; Rizzo constructed his entire front office around the idea of winning the amateur draft. Lately, that has meant spending money.

Now the trick will be to figure out if a player can be selected later in the draft, knowing the savings will be greater than if he goes early in the draft. But with such a large pool of players, both from college and high school, baseball’s draft is unlike any other sport’s, and it might be the biggest crapshoot of the major professional leagues. Teams won’t be able to pluck falling talents like Purke (who was projected to go in the first round but slipped to the third because of signability concerns) with fat contracts. It might mean the top players go where they should, but that would require every team to agree on who the top players are. At the very least, it’ll be interesting.

Evaluating the new draft landscape from South Capitol Street…

TerpNats Posted: November 23, 2011 at 05:10 PM | 11 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
  Tags: business, college, high school, nationals

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   1. JJ1986 Posted: November 23, 2011 at 06:08 PM (#4000231)
I don't understand how the MLBPA can negotiate this. Most draft picks get minor league contracts and are not part of the union. They're now having their earnings capped by two groups, neither one of whom represents them.
   2. Javy Joan Baez (chris h.) Posted: November 23, 2011 at 06:12 PM (#4000235)
I don't understand how the MLBPA can negotiate this. Most draft picks get minor league contracts and are not part of the union. They're now having their earnings capped by two groups, neither one of whom represents them.

It's because the amateurs have no representation of their own, and in the case of some (e.g. college athletes), aren't even allowed to get any.

So the people that don't give a #### about the youngsters get to screw them over. It's pathetic.
   3. Chris Needham Posted: November 23, 2011 at 06:49 PM (#4000279)
_Incorrect. The fine is for aggregate spending of your first ten picks. You can go as high as you want for your first round pick as long as your total spending for your first ten is contained. That's a huge difference._

Except the bonuses get so progressively smaller that it would be practically impossible to sign some of those other picks if you're that much over the cap. 5% of a Top-10 pick is quite a bit more than a 5% shave off a 10th rounders bonus.
   4. John DiFool2 Posted: November 23, 2011 at 06:57 PM (#4000289)
I don't understand how the MLBPA can negotiate this.


It's because the amateurs have no representation of their own, and in the case of some (e.g. college athletes), aren't even allowed to get any.


But don't they join the union the instant they sign a contract? [I forget-do minor-leaguers join the MLBPA, as a rule?] They're potential future union members in the least, right? Or is my idealism and naivete leaking through again, and I'll now get a Homer Simpson Lecture?
   5. Random Transaction Generator Posted: November 23, 2011 at 09:25 PM (#4000385)
Or is my idealism and naivete leaking through again, and I'll now get a Homer Simpson Lecture?

"Lisa needs braces!"
   6. You Know Nothing JT Snow (YR) Posted: November 23, 2011 at 09:43 PM (#4000395)
So the people that don't give a #### about the youngsters get to screw them over. It's pathetic.


Listen hippie, Bud's cronies are sick and tired or being strongarmed and extorted by these punks and ghetto grifters just because they can toss a baseball around.
   7. Joe Kehoskie Posted: November 23, 2011 at 11:45 PM (#4000449)
I don't understand how the MLBPA can negotiate this. Most draft picks get minor league contracts and are not part of the union. They're now having their earnings capped by two groups, neither one of whom represents them.

As I said in the "MLB, players set to announce labor deal" thread: Among other reasons, the MLBPA retains the right to collectively bargain draft issues because free agent compensation impacts MLBPA members. It's one of baseball's great ironies: The MLBPA was opposed to draft compensation from Day 1, but because it was implemented, the union retains a direct say in all draft-related issues (much to MLB's chagrin).
   8. Best Regards, President of Comfort, Esq., LLC Posted: November 24, 2011 at 12:17 AM (#4000458)
But don't they join the union the instant they sign a contract? [I forget-do minor-leaguers join the MLBPA, as a rule?] They're potential future union members in the least, right? Or is my idealism and naivete leaking through again, and I'll now get a Homer Simpson Lecture?
Not in the MLBPA until you have an MLB contract (on the 40 man roster).

As #8 said, the MLBPA gets to negotiate this because of draft pick compensation -- a draft pick being worth more or less changes the value of a free agent, so they should absolutely have a say in the process. But they're going to (and they should) be looking out for the best interests of the MLBPA, not the undrafted players. The undrafted players don't get a say, because as a group they don't have much leverage -- really, any leverage.

What would be fair? Well, massive revenue sharing and a return to the days before the draft -- amateur free agency. Everyone gets what their market value is, everyone has a shot at the best amateur, and with the massive revenue sharing, not only does it keep the Yankees/Red Sox from buying up the Strasburgs and Harpers, it keeps them from buying up the MLB free agents, too.
   9. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: November 24, 2011 at 12:40 AM (#4000463)
I don't understand how the MLBPA can negotiate this. Most draft picks get minor league contracts and are not part of the union. They're now having their earnings capped by two groups, neither one of whom represents them.

But, that's the very nature of a closed shop union.

I can't go to GM and agree to work for less, or more than the UAW has negotiated. The union negotiates wages and benefits for all current and future employees.
   10. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: November 24, 2011 at 08:31 PM (#4000701)
It has nothing to do with MLB being a closed shop. If the owners eliminated draft pick compensation, the MLBPA would have no say in this. And MLB would have put in a hard-capped slotting system.

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