http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Teams Could Seek Compensation Free Agent Loophole
By Mike Axisa [December 24 at 12:12pm CST]
Some executives are already anticipating that clubs will make an effort to find a loophole for free agents attached to draft pick compensation according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd). Forfeiting a draft pick for a free agent also means forfeiting the draft pool money associated with that pick, which is very valuable in this age of restricted draft spending.
Olney says teams have already internally discussed a modified sign-and-trade scenario, and he uses the Indians as an example. Since Cleveland has a protected first round pick and forfeited their second rounder to sign Nick Swisher, the next compensation free agent they sign will cause them to lose just a third rounder. They could sign a compensation free agent, then trade that player to another club in a pre-arranged deal, preumably for something deemed a bit more valuable than a third round pick.
The Yankees explored sign-and-trade scenarios with the Diamondbacks for Carl Pavano and Grant Balfour during the 2010-2011 offseason. Michael Bourn, Kyle Lohse, Rafael Soriano, and Adam LaRoche are the remaining unsigned compensation free agents, and there has been a limited market for all four this winter despite their on-field value. Players signed as free agents can not be traded until after June 15th without their written consent, so they would have to be on board with a sign-and-trade scenario.
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http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/...y-loophole-mlb
A potential free-agency loophole
December, 24, 2012
Dec 24
9:11
AM ET
Nick Swisher tweeted that he's going home, after finishing his four-year, $56 million deal with the Cleveland Indians. But the fact that Swisher attended Ohio State was only part of the reason the Indians pursued him so aggressively. He is a good hitter who consistently gets on base and generates power, and his energy is relentless, an intangible that helps teams get through the natural lulls in the long schedule. The New York Yankees, who won a championship with Swisher in 2009, will miss that element next season.
But the fact is that Swisher appears to have had no other options, because of what seems to be the unanticipated consequences of baseball's new rules; he is among a group of players whose free agency has been sabotaged by the new parameters. And what some executives are already anticipating is that between now and the start of the baseball season, there will be an effort to find a rule loophole for players like Rafael Soriano, Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn.
As of right now, the Reds will have the 28th and 37th overall selections in the 2013 draft.
It is possible the 28th pick could move up a couple slots depending on where the four remaining qualifying free agents (ie Bourn, LaRoche etc) sign.
Go BLUE!!!
Hoping the Reds take Karsten Whitson. They scouted him heavily when he was in high school.
http://diamondvisits.blogspot.com/ My Minor League stadium review site.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Quick Hits: Qualifying Offers, Swisher, Kennedy
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 2 at 4:20pm CST]
All but seven of MLBTR's top 50 free agents have agreed to terms, but there are still dozens of unsigned players at this stage in the winter, as MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker shows. Here are some links from around MLB as the 2013 portion of the 2012-13 offseason gets underway...
Yahoo's Jeff Passan explains the tension between the MLB teams that aim to keep their top draft picks and free agents such as Kyle Lohse, Rafael Soriano, Michael Bourn and Adam LaRoche, who are linked to draft pick compensation after declining qualifying offers. Agent Scott Boras, who represents Lohse, Soriano and Bourn, faces the challenge of finding contracts for these players at a time that some teams are hesitant to engage them.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs wonders if the next collective bargaining agreement will adjust or even overhaul the current system of qualifying offers to find a balance for all parties involved.
http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2...y-picks/27824/
2013 MLB mock draft 5.0 with supplemental, lottery picks
By Dan Kirby on December 29, 2012 7:15 pm in Featured, Prospecting / 3 Comments
28. Cincinnati Reds — Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Cathedral Catholic HS (CA)
Starring for U18 Team USA, the 6’-5” left-hander went 2-0 in Seoul with 12 strikeouts, four walks and a 0.88 ERA over 16 innings. He has a sinking fastball that can touch 94 mph and also adds a mid-70s curveball that is still developing. As a junior, he had a 1.91 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 79 K/20 BB over 66 innings. He led his team to a second straight state title last season by tossing a three-hitter with eight strikeouts in the championship game. High ceiling with a lot of projection due to his frame.
36. Cincinnati Reds — Keegan Thompson, RHP, Cullman HS (AL)
The 6’-3”, 185-pound right-hander had a dominant junior season going 7-2 with a 0.94 ERA and 119 K/5 BB over 67.1 innings. Features a mid-90s fastball, plus curve, a developing change-up and superb command of all three. Was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Alabama as a sophomore and also starred for 2011 U16 Team USA, going 2-0 with 18 strikeouts and only six hits allowed over 14 innings, including tossing a complete game shutout against Cuba in the gold medal game, striking out 12 while also going 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBI. Had seven strikeouts over six innings, allowing one run for 2012 U18 Team USA.
Last edited by Gallen5862; 01-02-2013 at 08:54 PM.
This is kind of interesting though.
Why does there need to be a special case for guys like this, especially Bourn?
Bourn was a FA CF in a year where there were many openings for CF. Apparently he priced himself too high. He could've also had a one year deal at 13.3 million.
It just seems that if he drops his asking price enough, no team will care about losing a draft pick. (the odds of a draft pick becoming as good of a player as Bourne is pretty remote).
I think next year, more players are going to accept that one year 13.3 arbitration offer. IMO, Soriano should've accepted the arb offer.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
All hail the small-market supplemental picks! That is absolutely huge in a year like this when we're picking third-to-last in the first round because of our awesomeness last season.
http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index..._cost_cle.html
Nick Swisher's signing cost Cleveland Indians their No.2 pick in June draft, but they retained their No.1 pick: Hey Hoynsie
Hey Hoynsie: It appears that teams are reluctant to sign the remaining free agent players who are tied to draft pick compensation. Could the Indians benefit from this somehow, either by signing another player or doing a sign-and-trade with another team? -- Steve Alex, Gainesville, Fla.
Hey, Steve : The Indians cannot lose their No.1 pick even if they did sign another free agent who had received a qualifying offer from his former team. That's what they did with Nick Swisher and it cost them their second round pick and the bonus pool for signing that pick in the June draft.
Right now, however, GM Chris Antonetti said he's spent most of his free-agent dollars.
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40
YW Nathan. That was a good idea you had to start the list.
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