SB Nation Pittsburgh - MLB CBA: Draft Changes A Likely Disaster For Pirates, At Least In Short Termhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48827/pitt-fv.png2012-02-20T13:51:02-05:00http://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/rss/stream/23453302012-02-20T13:51:02-05:002012-02-20T13:51:02-05:00New MLB Draft Bonus Pools May Be Just As Bad For Pirates As Initially Imagined
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<p>Jim Callis <a href="http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2012/02/2012-aggregate-bonus-pools/">reports</a> on the draft pools for 2012, when the new rules governing the MLB Draft begin to go into effect. Basically, Callis says the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsdugout.com/">Pirates</a> will be able to spend about $6.6 million, or maybe a bit over (depending on how much they're willing to bend the rules) on the first 10 picks. (The number will be slightly higher if <span>Derrek Lee</span> ends up signing a major-league deal with another team, because that would give the Pirates an extra compensation pick.) 15 teams will be allowed to spend more next year, even though the Pirates pick eighth overall; the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.twinkietown.com/">Minnesota Twins</a>, who have the largest pool, will be able to spend almost twice as much. </p>↵<p>It's important to note that there has been a lot of very wacky reporting on this issue, so it might be wise to wait until other sources confirm these numbers before jumping off a cliff. Callis is very reliable, however, and these numbers would be awful for the Pirates if they turn out to be true. Pirates fans initially freaked out when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement made clear that draft rules would be changed, but folks like Baseball America and Pirates president Frank Coonelly (who told me personally that the Pirates' 2012 draft pool would be about $10 million) suggested it wasn't as bad as we feared. If these pool numbers were right, though, it really is that bad.</p>↵<p>The Bucs have spent freely in the draft for the past four years. We knew the days of spending $5 million on Josh Bell in the second round would be over, but these numbers would clamp down on pretty much any kind of advantage the Pirates had carved out for themselves. This is especially frustrating, given how little Major League Baseball has done to make major-league players affordable to teams like the Pirates. If these numbers are accurate, it will be that much harder for the Pirates to be competitive.</p>↵<p><i>For more on the Pirates, check out <a href="http://bucsdugout.com">Bucs Dugout</a></i>.</p>
https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-pirates/2012/2/20/2812168/mlb-draft-bonus-pools-piratesCharlie Wilmoth2011-11-28T13:05:21-05:002011-11-28T13:05:21-05:00MLB CBA: Draft Rules Essentially Amount To A Cap On Each Pick
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<p><a href="http://minors.mlblogs.com/2011/11/28/more-cba-goodies/">Jonathan Mayo has</a> details on the new draft rules under baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. I previously <a href="http://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-pirates/2011/11/22/2580836/mlb-collective-bargaining-agreement-draft-pirates/in/2345330">wrote</a> that these deals were bad for the Pirates, but it looks now like they’re even worse, and more tyrannical, than I thought.</p>
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<p>If a Club does not sign a pick, its signing bonus pool is reduced by the amount of the pick. So, for example, if a Club does not sign its first round pick, and its first round pick had a slot of $1.5 million, the Club’s signing bonus pool would be reduced by $1.5. This is true of any unsigned pick, not just those covered by compensation. The main idea here was to not create incentive for a team to <span class="caps">NOT</span> sign a pick. Without this safeguard, a team could “punt” a pick in order to divert those funds to another pick later on, which could result in a Draft that would look a lot like the old ones.</p>
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<p>Well, right. I <a href="http://www.bucsdugout.com/2011/11/22/2581161/mlb-cba-what-are-the-best-ways-around-the-draft-rules">wrote</a> that lowballing certain picks in order to spend heavily on others might be a potential loophole, but it looks like it actually isn’t.</p>
<p>Functionally, what this means, as <a href="http://www.bucsdugout.com/2011/11/28/2592316/mlb-cba-so-much-for-draft-loopholes#83998259">one poster at Bucs Dugout pointed out</a>, is that there’s essentially a cap on each pick. If a team doesn’t sign a pick, its value comes out of the team’s pool, so it won’t be possible to sign <i>any</i> pick for more than baseball recommends without incurring a penalty. That’s ridiculous, frankly. I would have expected the Pirates to aggressively exploit any opportunity to be flexible, but it appears there will be very few such opportunities.</p>
https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-pirates/2011/11/28/2592412/mlb-cba-draft-rules-baseballCharlie Wilmoth2011-11-23T19:27:55-05:002011-11-23T19:27:55-05:00MLB CBA: Draft Values For Top 10 Picks
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<p><a href="http://minors.mlblogs.com/2011/11/23/the-new-cba-what-the-top-10-picks-are-worth/">Jonathan Mayo</a> lists the draft values for each of the top 10 picks in the <span class="caps">MLB</span> draft, according to baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement.</p>
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<p>1 — $7.2 million<br>
2 — $6.2 million<br>
3 — $5.2 million<br>
4 — $4.2<br>
5 — $3.5<br>
6 — $3.25<br>
7 — $3<br>
8 — $2.9<br>
9 — $2.8<br>
10 — $2.7</p>
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<p>Teams will still be able to spend more than this on their first-round picks if they want, but these recommendations will add into an overall pool that effectively sets the limits for each team.</p>
<p>The Houston Astros have the first overall pick, and we know their draft pool is going to be $11.5 million. The Pirates pick eighth, and their recommendation for their first-round pick is $4.3 million less than the Astros, so their draft pool is going to be about $7.2 million. That’s a reasonably healthy number, but it’s a lot less than they spent in any of the past four years.</p>
<p>For more on the Pirates, check out <a href="http://bucsdugout.com">Bucs Dugout</a>.</p>
https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-pirates/2011/11/23/2583929/mlb-cba-draft-values-top-10-pirates-astros-baseballCharlie Wilmoth2011-11-22T16:39:23-05:002011-11-22T16:39:23-05:00MLB CBA: How Will New Draft Rules Affect Pirates?
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<p>You can read the full text of Major League Baseball’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement <a href="http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111122&content_id=26025138&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb">here</a>. There’s a lot in it, but for Pirates fans, the biggest sticking point is new rules regarding spending in the draft.</p>
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<p>A. Each Club will be assigned an aggregate Signing Bonus Pool prior to each draft.<br>
For the purpose of calculating the Signing Bonus Pools, each pick in the first 10<br>
rounds of the draft has been assigned a value … A Club’s Signing Bonus Pool equals the sum of the values of that Club’s selections in the first 10 rounds of the draft. Players selected after the 10th round do not count against a Club’s Signing Bonus Pool if they receive bonuses up to $100,000. Any amounts paid in excess of $100,000 will count against the Pool.<br>
B. Clubs that exceed their Signing Bonus Pools will be subject to penalties as<br>
follows:<br>
Excess of Pool Penalty (Tax on Overage/Draft Picks)<br>
• 0-5% 75% tax on overage<br>
• 5-10% 75% tax on overage and loss of 1st round pick<br>
• 10-15% 100% tax on overage and loss of 1st and 2nd round picks<br>
• 15%+ 100% tax on overage and loss of 1st round picks in next two drafts</p>
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<p>Excuse the long blockquote, but it’s probably necessary here. In plain English, basically what’s going on is that the Pirates and some other teams have been spending more on certain draft picks than Major League Baseball and the players would prefer. That includes million-dollar bonuses for pitchers like Zack Von Rosenberg and Colton Cain and, most notoriously, $5 million for high school outfielder Josh Bell in last year’s draft. The Bucs won’t be allowed to do that anymore. They <i>could</i> choose to break the rule, but for a team that picks near the beginning of the draft most years, the punishment of losing a first-round draft pick is very serious.</p>
<p>The Pirates have been the highest-spending team in the draft the last four years. If they continue to play poorly at the major-league level, they’ll still spend more than most teams, because Major League Baseball will give them a bigger pool to work with. But their days of spending $5 million on Josh Bell are, unfortunately, over. (And it’s likely that players like Bell will simply end up going to college now.) There are a few bonuses in the new <span class="caps">CBA</span> for teams like the Pirates, such as the ability to spend more on international talent than large-market teams do, and a special lottery that would allow teams like the Pirates an extra draft pick after the first round. But for right now, it’s the draft spending issue that is most significant.</p>
<p>You can read more about the Pirates and the new <span class="caps">CBA</span> at <a href="http://bucsdugout.com">Bucs Dugout</a>.</p>
https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-pirates/2011/11/22/2581327/mlb-cba-draft-rules-pirates-baseballCharlie Wilmoth2011-11-22T13:49:44-05:002011-11-22T13:49:44-05:00MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement A Huge Blow To Pirates
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<p>Baseball's new CBA will, amazingly, make it even more difficult for the Pirates to compete.</p> <p>Details of baseball's new Collective Bargaining Agreement are beginning to trickle out online, and it appears to make competitive Major League Baseball in Pittsburgh even more of a pipe dream than it used to be. </p>
<p>Without getting into too many of the specifics - <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/JeffPassan">you can check out Jeff Passan's Twitter account for those</a> - the key here is that it will no longer be possible for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsdugout.com/">Pirates</a> or other small-market teams to radically out-spend their peers in the draft. Or, well, they <i>can</i>, but then they'll face draconian punishments, including the loss of first-round picks. Teams like the Pirates, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> were among the draft's biggest spenders, and the surest way for teams in smaller markets like Pittsburgh and Kansas City to compete is to draft and develop their own players, since they can't afford high-priced free agents. </p>
<p>As far as I can tell, nothing has been done to prevent large-market teams from spending at the big-league level. This is really about capping spending on amateurs, which is often being done primarily by teams like the Pirates and Royals. The Pirates' spending on someone like Josh Bell, their second-round pick from last year's draft, will no longer be possible. </p>
<p>There appear to be a few fig leafs for smaller-market teams - a lottery which will hand out extra picks for small-revenue teams between the first and second rounds, for example - but they pale in comparison to being able to spend. This is bad. Really bad. </p>
<p>We'll have more details as they become available.</p>
https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/pittsburgh-pirates/2011/11/22/2580836/mlb-collective-bargaining-agreement-draft-piratesCharlie Wilmoth