International Draft Close to Becoming a Reality?

[nicksaviking]

 

 

What I would change:

 

- One single draft (40 rounds are enough) for all amateur players like the NFL and NBA.  This way everyone will compete for the same money.

- Get rid of caps (got to give something to players)

- All picks are tradeable, including during the draft, like the NFL (fun to see teams  hoarding 20+ round picks and try to rebuild that way.)

 

Just some quick thoughts.  

 

Wouldn't all three of these things ensure that the best players all go to the big market teams?

 

With the Twins sitting with the top pick and the next can't miss stud is there:

 

Scenario 1: His agent tells everyone not to draft him because they'd be wasting their pick; after all 40 rounds are complete everyone can have a bidding war.

 

Scenario 2: Since there is no cap, his agent tells everyone that his client demands $100M (but tells the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers that it's really $50M) basically reverting the draft back to how the Rule 4 draft was prior to the last CBA.

 

Scenario 3: The Twins pick the kid and he tells them to trade him or he won't sign, ala John Elway and Eli Manning.

 

The Twins would have no shot at anyone close to elite talent if these things were agreed upon.

[Mike Sixel]

Here is my actual proposal (obviously details can be changed):

 

round 1:

The worst 10 teams get $10MM to sign any 1-3 players they want to sign. They have 7 days to come to an agreement. No player can get more than 10MM, and that player cannot get more money from any MLB team until he or she has been in the major leagues at least three years. This last part is to prevent illicit bonuses. That way, there is no incentive to lose the most games.....A player can decide to take $2MM, or risk going to the next round....some players will choose that $2MM, and some won't. But, they will get to negotiate where they go. Also, the 9th worst team still has a shot at the best player.

 

round 2:

The worst 20 teams over the last three years (meaning total wins for the last three years) get $5MM to sign any 1-2 players they want to sign. They have 7 days to come to an agreement. No player can get more than 5MM, and that player cannot get more money from any MLB team until he or she has been in the major leagues at least three years. This last part is to prevent illicit bonuses. Why the last three years? Well, we are trying to help the worst teams get better faster, by giving them more resources.

 

round 3:

The best 20 teams in this year get $2MM to sign any 1-3 players they want to sign. They have 7 days to come to an agreement. No player can get more than 2MM, and that player cannot get more money from any MLB team until he or she has been in the major leagues at least three years. This last part is to prevent illicit bonuses.

 

round 4:

Everyone can sign anyone for, I don't know, up to 200K. They have 7 days to come to an agreement. No player can get more than 200K, and that player gets the league minimum for two years. 

 

Is it perfect? No.

 

Is it, imo, better than a pure draft? Yes.

 

The best players get more money, the players get to negotiate some where they go, the teams get a shot at the best players.

 

edit: the no more money thing depends on the league minimums and what not....they still get their league minimum salary....just no more than that. And, as salaries escalate, we'll adjust the numbers.

[TheLeviathan]

 

One other thing to consider/concern would be exactly how much talent is out there in any individual year?   Not every draft is going to be as loaded as the 2011/2012 years were. There probably is some validity to concerns that certain teams would amass the best talent period if there aren't controls on how amateur players are selected.  

 

I get the concern that players don't get to choose where they play, at the same time I'm more concerned with the health of the game overall.  Without the draft forcing some degree of equal distribution of talent, you'll see competitive balance erode over time.  

 

Making things about money pools puts competitive balance in way too much jeopardy for my liking.  And when that crumbles, it won't matter how much freedom the players have when the league begins to dissolve in relevance.

[Thrylos]

 

 

 

 

 

Which countries would be included, and which wouldn't be? No way Japan or Taiwan or Korea agree to being involved in this. Australia would probably, but I don't know.

 

 

 

It is an individual and not a country situation.  And most countries (other than Cuba or S. Korea) have no say in not allowing their citizens to be drafted and go play baseball in the States.

 

Now players under contract in their own leagues in Japan & Korea would have to fulfill those contracts or be under their legal ramifications.  Japanese and Korean kids might have to chose US MiLB ball vs Japanese or Korean ball.

 

Drafting someone just gives a team the right to sign this person for a year.  He/she can refuse to sign.

 

 

[Thrylos]

 

Wouldn't all three of these things ensure that the best players all go to the big market teams?

 

With the Twins sitting with the top pick and the next can't miss stud is there:

 

Scenario 1: His agent tells everyone not to draft him because they'd be wasting their pick; after all 40 rounds are complete everyone can have a bidding war.

 

Scenario 2: Since there is no cap, his agent tells everyone that his client demands $100M (but tells the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers that it's really $50M) basically reverting the draft back to how the Rule 4 draft was prior to the last CBA.

 

Scenario 3: The Twins pick the kid and he tells them to trade him or he won't sign, ala John Elway and Eli Manning.

 

The Twins would have no shot at anyone close to elite talent if these things were agreed upon.

 

No but the Twins will have 2 first round picks next season.

 

"Big Market Teams" were "favored" on paper by the previous CBA that did not have any caps.  How many of them really built through the draft?  They are in a win-now mentality and build through free agency and trades that deplete their farms.

 

Also another assumption:  Biggest draft bonus = "better players".  Not true.  Might be "higher ranked prospects", but that's about it. 

 

It will reward teams that go out and find gems who everyone else passed on, rather than "Big Market" teams.

 

[dxpavelka]

 

What does this have to do with the proposal to change from a draft to a pool of money system?

Wasn't really a proposal to change from a draft to a money pool system.  Since there currently is no draft for international players my statement was that I'd like to see one and see no reason why it should be separate from the regular draft.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Every single year there are first-round picks that don't sign with the team that drafts them, in spite of (often) a 7-figure signing bonus being offered.

Actually, in 2016 and 2015, every first-round pick signed (well, into the comp picks anyway -- the top 40 and 34 selections signed those years, respectively).

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Scenario 3: The Twins pick the kid and he tells them to trade him or he won't sign, ala John Elway

Good riddance -- he never got out of A-ball anyway.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=elway-001joh

[biggentleben]

 

No but the Twins will have 2 first round picks next season.

 

"Big Market Teams" were "favored" on paper by the previous CBA that did not have any caps.  How many of them really built through the draft?  They are in a win-now mentality and build through free agency and trades that deplete their farms.

 

Also another assumption:  Biggest draft bonus = "better players".  Not true.  Might be "higher ranked prospects", but that's about it. 

 

It will reward teams that go out and find gems who everyone else passed on, rather than "Big Market" teams.

 

They will? You must know something about the competitive balance lottery that no one else does at this point because those picks have not been determined.

[biggentleben]

 

Actually, in 2016 and 2015, every first-round pick signed (well, into the comp picks anyway -- the top 40 and 34 selections signed those years, respectively).

 

I forgot that Kay signed this year. He was a last hour signee this year. So, to edit my point, early picks have not signed. Is that better?

[Mike Sixel]

I do agree if there is a draft, all the players should be in 1 pool.

[Vanimal46]

Eric Longenhagen's take on this on today's Fangraphs' chat:

 

Zonk
2:26 What is your take on a potential IFA draft? Who would be the winners and losers under such a system?

Eric A Longenhagen
2:27 I think the idea is horrendous and discriminatory, just like the domestic draft. The winners are the owners who save money on bonuses. End of list. The losers are literally everyone else.

[darin617]

It's about time they at least thought about doing this to help small market teams compete to sign international players. My only concern is that this draft will not include Asian player that go through the posting system. If they are not included you will start seeing Latin American prospects trying to play in Japan or Korea to then be eligible to become posted to try to get more money.

 

[Thrylos]

 

They will? You must know something about the competitive balance lottery that no one else does at this point because those picks have not been determined.

 

That was an answer to a hypothetical scenario about high draft picks not signing for teams like the Twins but waiting for next season for more $... The Appel situation