Chicago White Sox

Who knows? The owners don’t design the negotiating strategy.

If the union caves on the international draft (at least kicking it down the road to Nov 15) it seems like a deal is possible.

Exactly…not negotiating for a month plus after initiating the lockout is 100% on him. That was most definitely his tactic to break the union and he overestimated how easily they would fold this time around. And now with TV money at stake, he finally decides to get serious halfway through March. Fuck Manfred.

Your entire argument seems to be centered around the idea of prospects potentially being blocked and choosing quicker paths to the majors. How many quality prospects are blocked indefinitely and have to wait until the Rule 5 draft / minor league free agency to get their opportunity? The answer is very few as prospects are far too valuable to sit around idle in AAA. Either they will be moved to another position (like Vaughn last year) or will be traded for something else that can help the team. This hypothetical problem of yours really isn’t a problem. As for this idea that players are paying off their debts at “minimum wage” before hitting free agency is also absurd. Right now, they’d only make $2M over their first three years before reaching arbitration where they make exponentially more money. Poor Manny Machado only made $34M prior to reaching free agency. Sounds like modern day slavery to me. Also, let’s not ignore the +$5M bonus he received before ever playing a minor league game. Should all the prospects who fail (which is the majority) pay back their signing bonuses to the owners? The way the draft works today is not the problem. The real problem is minor leaguers working at below minimum wages and not being provided basic necessities like housing & food. Those are the people who should be the priority. After them, pre-arb players should probably get paid a bit more and that’s actively being negotiated through a minimum salary increase and a bonus pool for performance. And finally, revenue sharing should require a minimum payroll to ensure the middle class of player isn’t getting fuck once they hit free agency. None of those require the elimination of the draft and awarding free agency from day one. The MLB desperately needs more parity not less.

Yes I believe he did

Who you thinking? Bassitt?

Honestly, doesn’t feel like Congress does much in this partisan era. Might as well fix baseball.

Great post by Heyman. Cal

Damn this would be sweet if Congress actually did something about this.

Didn’t you literally argue last week that using fWAR instead of arbitration was evil?

Honestly at this point fuck them all. The moment we start losing games it’s very clear that neither side gives a fuck about the fans.

You don’t like the idea of surplus value? Should players reimburse owners when they underperform their contract?

Do you want like 15 teams including five super teams because that’s what you’re going to get if your argument is simply let capitalism dictate a major sports league? Teams like the Pirates would have zero chance of lasting in the long-run under your scenario. But hey, if even worse parity and 400 less major league jobs is what you’re after it’s a great plan!

What’s the ROI on a 1st round pick in the draft vs. the average nine figure free agent? Do you actually think the expensive free agent provides the better return on dollar spend?

Your lack of business sense is astounding. Look at the god damn regional TV deals and tell me with a straight face the Rays & Marlins can spend as much as the Dodgers & Yankees. You are legit embarrassing yourself with these takes.

You clearly don’t understand the value of amateur talent. If the Yankees, Dodgers, etc. could just outbid the the low market teams for said players it would be game over from a competitive integrity standpoint. I can’t believe we’re actually having this debate.

No one is entitled to a specific type of job or company. You act as if these guys aren’t baseball players then they’re unemployed for life. If they want to be a MLB player, then they have to potentially play for the Rockies or Pirates for a period of time. If they just want to play baseball for a living, they can go to Japan. Stop trying to make every labor situation into a massive immoral dilemma. And aren’t you the most pro union guy in the world? You do understand how seniority works right? Doesn’t seem like pay for performance is what you actually care about.

For amateur talent? Hell yes.

Good counter-argument. Why don’t we also transfer all equity to the players since what’s best for them is all that matters.

You understand how free agency works right? Do the small market clubs usually get access to the best players?

It’s really fucking stupid.

So we should hurt the competitive balance of the game instead? How is that the answer?

I don’t understand how anyone is against drafts for major league sports.

How quickly will activity begin once a CBA is agreed to? Could we have transactions as soon as tonight or is that optimistic?

And that could have worked. Ultimately Hahn decided to swing for the fences in hopes of adding a player with Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman type potential. Obviously we didn’t get that out of Kimbrel and we paid a very steep price.