MLB reaches new CBA agreement.

[User Name]

Baseball's owners and players have agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that should be announced early next week. Here are some details on the CBA, which ensures 21 years of labor peace for MLB:

 

Several GMs are livid over the restraints on draft spending, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal also points out that commissioner Bud Selig, Rob Manfred of MLB and union leader Michael Weiner deserve credit for coming to an agreement peacefully.

 

There won't be hard caps for draft choices under the new CBA, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). However, there will be recommended bonuses and tax implications for teams that go way over the suggested limits.

[Flynnatic10]

Now if only we can get one done for the NBA!

[Palodios]

New restraints on draft spending.... That makes me wonder if the Red Sox have a bigger major league budget than we initially expected.

[Palodios]

The new deal is expected to be announced this week, well ahead of the Dec. 11 expiration of the former CBA. The five-year deal will make for 21 uninterrupted labor peace in baseball. After the shameful events if 1994, the owners and players have gotten it right.

 

As an observer of this process, the strength of the MLB Players Association is what helps to make this possible. Unlike the NHL, NBA or NFL, baseball owners know they can't break their players union and trying would be fruitless. That makes for negotiations which, while not necessarily a picnic, start with certain realities in place.

 

The new agreement is apparently a model of give and take based on reports by the AP and the New York Times. The union has agreed to testing for HGH, adding to the system already in place for testing for steroids and amphetamines. The constant evolution of designer drugs by crooked chemists means no sport is totally safe from cheaters. But baseball is now vigilant after years of turning away from the problem.

 

The free agent compensation system is being trimmed back so only the truly elite players will bring back a draft pick. A temporary version of the new model will be in place this winter, but is not retroactive. So the Red Sox will get Philadelphia's draft pick for Jonathan Papelbon.

 

The hard-to-understand and antiquated Elias rankings of free agents will be scrapped, too. Starting in 2012, teams would have to make a “qualifying offer” of a one-year guaranteed contract worth $12.4 million to get draft pick compensation. In other words, you have to believe your player is worth that much to get a pick back. Clearly that will cut down on the Type A pool to only a handful of superstars.

 

This helps the players as Type A free agents often had their value diminished. For instance, what team would want to forfeit a first-round draft pick for Matt Capps?

 

Type B free agents would eliminated. This will help cut down on draft costs as fewer players will be supplemental first round picks.

 

The minimum salary will climb from $414,000 to $480,000 end eventually to $500,000. The number of "Super Two" players eligible for arbitration after their second season will climb from 17 percent to 22 percent. That will add five or players to the group.

 

The owners got a salary cap on draft picks. Teams will have a maximum they can spend on draft picks in a given year (and international free agents, too) and will be taxed heavily (75 percent to 100 percent) if they exceed that limit. Teams also could lose future draft picks for egregiously exceeding the limit.

 

This will cut down on 18-year-olds getting $1 million who never get out of Class A ball

 

Unfortunately, this will also severely limit baseball's ability to lure two-sport athletes. The Red Sox, for instance, were able to overspend to get outfielder Brandon Jacobs to walk away from a football scholarship to Auburn. Jacobs, a 10th round pick in 2009, received a bonus of $750,000 and is now a prime prospect. Those decisions will have ramifications now.

 

Until the new agreement is published for all to see, it's hard to get a gauge of who "won" the negotiations. But from what we know so far, it sounds fairly even. The players got less restraint of trade from the compensation system and a significantly higher minimum salary while the owners got HGH testing and a cap on draft pick salaries.

 

In the end, fans win for sure because baseball isn't going anywhere for five years. With the added wild cards, new stadiums around the game and compelling division races, it's a healthy sport and we can all celebrate that.[/Quote]

 

Some interesting tidbits. I think that this will have some very big effects on the trade/FA market. I doubt we'll see the Red Sox letting go of so many marque free agents now that the compensation system doesn't work in their favor for it. I also think this will significantly lower the costs of free agent relief pitchers on the trade market, but may inflate their costs on the free agent market.

[a700hitter]

New restraints on draft spending.... That makes me wonder if the Red Sox have a bigger major league budget than we initially expected.

The draft spending wasn't really a competitive advantage anymore. Other teams, notably the Yankees, were following suit and doing the same thing as the Red Sox.

[User Name]

New CBA Notes: Minimum Salary, Super Twos, HGH

By Mike Axisa [November 19 at 7:40pm CST]

 

Baseball's owners and players have agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that should be announced early next week. This afternoon, we learned that teams won't have to sacrifice picks to sign top free agent relievers this offseason and the Elias rankings system will be no more starting next winter. We'll keep track the rest of the day's CBA news right here...

 

The AP (via The Star Ledger) reports that the minimum salary will rise from $414K this year to $480K next year, and then to $500K in later years.

Within the same article, the AP also reports that the Super Two cutoff will be increased to 22% of players with 2-3 years of service time. The previous cutoff had been 17%. An additional five or six players will be arbitration-eligible each year due to the change.

 

The new CBA will include blood testing for human growth hormone, two people in baseball briefed on the matter told Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. It appears that players who test positive will be served with a 50-game suspension, the same as the first-time penalty for a positive steroid test.

 

ESPN's Buster Olney hears from a source that the rule forbidding teams in the same division from meeting in the LDS round of the playoffs will be eliminated .

 

[Palodios]

The draft spending wasn't really a competitive advantage anymore. Other teams' date=' notably the Yankees, were following suit and doing the same thing as the Red Sox.[/quote']

 

I never said it was an advantage. But if the Red Sox save money from paying draftees, they may have more money for free agents.

[a700hitter]

I never said it was an advantage. But if the Red Sox save money from paying draftees' date=' they may have more money for free agents.[/quote']I wasn't disagreeing with you. I was just commenting.

[example1]

The draft spending wasn't really a competitive advantage anymore. Other teams' date=' notably the Yankees, were following suit and doing the same thing as the Red Sox.[/quote']

 

What data do you use to back this up?

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/visualizing-2011-draft-spending/#

 

This is a useful way of looking at it.

 

The Sox are consistently among the draft's biggest spenders, both in terms of total spent and the number of people signed above slot.

 

They also continually take advantage of the "competitive advantage" of accumulating draft picks by letting type-A FAs go.

 

From what I've read, the Sox will get draft pick compensation for losing Papelbon, even though teams who make a similar signing from now on will not lose it. The new CBA changes the compensation system to the Phillies loss. They should have waited.

[a700hitter]

What data do you use to back this up?

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/visualizing-2011-draft-spending/#

 

This is a useful way of looking at it.

 

The Sox are consistently among the draft's biggest spenders, both in terms of total spent and the number of people signed above slot.

 

They also continually take advantage of the "competitive advantage" of accumulating draft picks by letting type-A FAs go.

 

From what I've read, the Sox will get draft pick compensation for losing Papelbon, even though teams who make a similar signing from now on will not lose it. The new CBA changes the compensation system to the Phillies loss. They should have waited.

Success gets mimicked, but regardless, it seems that they will no longer have the opportunity to operate as they had in the past.

[example1]

There will be new opportunities now. For instance, it appears that many fewer RPs will reach Type A status, meaning that most good RPs who would currently cost a pick will not in the future. Which types of teams do you think could benefit from that? Teams with the money to sign the top tier of relievers. In the past giving up a draft pick for a Joaquim Benoit seemed really painful. Now it won't. I suspect there will be other benefits to this too and I'm convinced the Sox will exploit anything that is exploitable.

[User Name]

New details from the CBA:

 

CBA Details: Luxury Tax, Draft, HGH, Replay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 22 at 11:50am CST]

 

Baseball players and owners are announcing today that they’ve agreed to terms on a five-year collective bargaining agreement that assures MLB of two decades of labor peace. We’ll update this post with details on the CBA as they become available. The most recent details are up top:

 

* MLB rosters will expand to 26 for some doubleheaders, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter).

* Teams in the ten smallest markets and with the ten lowest revenues will enter a lottery for six additional first and second round picks, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (on Twitter).

 

* Teams that don't exceed their draft pool will have a chance to obtain picks from teams that over-spent, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

 

* There will be no more MLB deals for draft picks, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

 

* The draft signing deadline moves to the July 12-18 range from August 15th, according to Passan (on Twitter).

 

* Cubans under 23 years old with less than three years of professional experience will be considered amateurs and count against international spending limits, according to Passan (on Twitter).26-year-old Yoenis Cespedes won't be subject to these limits.

 

* Teams that spend more than 5% over-slot on the draft will face a 75% tax, according to Passan (all Twitter links). Teams that go over slot by 5-10% face a 75% tax and the loss of a first rounder. Teams that go over slot by 10-15% face a 100% tax and the loss of a first and second rounder. Teams that exceed slot by 15% or more face a 100% tax and the loss of two first rounders. MLB wanted the top players to be selected in order of talent, according to Passan. This set of rules will also reduce draft spending significantly, a bonus for owners.

 

* Starting in 2013-14, teams will be able to trade money from their spending allowance for international players, according to Passan (all Twitter links). However, teams can only boost their original spending limit by 50% through trades. Every team will have $2.9MM to spend on international bonuses this offseason, according to Passan. Eventually the limits will be in the $1.8-5MM range, according to Passan.

 

* Teams that surpass the luxury tax threshold of $178MM will be taxed 42% in 2012 and 50% in 2013, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (all Twitter links).

 

* There will be a “significant” tax for teams that exceed recommended draft bonuses by a substantial margin, according to Heyman.

 

* A worldwide draft is a "significant possibility" by 2014, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (on Twitter).

 

* Blood testing for HGH will not be occur during the season without reasonable suspicion, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that offseason testing will begin next winter, 2012-2013.

 

* Olney also mentions that players will be tested in Spring Training "to determine energy levels" after testing, then the results will be discarded. The two sides will then determine how to proceed (all Twitter links).

 

* Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that instant replay will be expanded to include fair/foul plays and "trap" plays, subject to discussions between MLB and the umpires.

 

* Yesterday, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes explained the new CBA in detail. Some highlights: Type A relievers will no longer cost draft picks to sign, the Elias rankings system will be eliminated, the minimum salary will increase, more super twos will exist and blood testing for HGH will begin. Plus, the Astros will move to the American League in 2013 and each league will introduce a new Wild Card team. The new playoff structure will begin in 2012, reports Olney (on Twitter).