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Kylie McDaniel
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ESPN MLB Insider
- ESPN MLB Insider
- Kylie McDaniel covers the prospects for MLB, the MLB project and others, including deals and a free agency.
- He has worked for four MLB teams.
Jeff Pasan
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ESPN- Insider of ESPN MLB
Author of “The Hand: Inside the Mystery of Billions of Dollars of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sport”
ESPNThe consequences of the Major League Baseball players’ lockout could have far-reaching effects on trade and free agent markets, potentially slowing them down as teams have restricted the scouting of minor league players who are currently in spring training camps due to uncertainty. regarding the Rule 5 draft, officials from nine teams told ESPN.
Many teams have questioned in the league about the possibility of canceling the Rule 5 draft this season, sources said. In the draft, teams can choose players who are not on the list of 40 people and pay $ 100,000 for their rights, but must keep them on their list of 26 people in the major leagues for the entire season. According to sources, no decision has been made on the main league part of the Rule 5 draft this season, but as the spring preparations for the minor leagues are underway and the matches are due to start on March 12, the opacity of the situation has led managers to wonder how the league plans to deal with the complex case.
During talks on a new collective agreement, MLB and the MLB Players’ Association have not yet discussed the draft Rule 5, ESPN sources said. As this is collectively agreed, the union and the league will have to agree to scratch it for one season. MLB and MLBPA declined to comment when reached by ESPN.
Fearing losing players if Rule 5’s project remained, 16 organizations sent letters to all teams, banning scouts from entering their complexes, according to sources. Only five teams have allowed scouts from other organizations to watch their minor league players, according to sources at the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A, Tampa Bay Race and Seattle Mariners, who joined the group on Friday. The five have reached a mutual agreement in which they can explore each other’s prospects. Other organizations have not formalized a policy or outlined a separate plan. The St. Louis Cardinals, for example, will open to the public and the media on Monday, but not to the scouts until March 17, when the games begin.
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The consequences of the decisions to ban scouts, sources said, could be much deeper: most teams also cannot evaluate players who could be commercial targets after the lockout. The trading market is expected to be lively as the game’s trade repository reopens during the new CBA. But doing so without scouting players would lead to unnecessary risk, especially for teams that want to recover through deals, sources said.
In recent seasons, executives have cited a stagnant commercial market as the reason for the slow movement of the free agency. With potentially trading star of first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Matt Chapman and starting pitchers Chris Bassit, Sean Manaya and Frankie Montas, the Reds who shop, start lodging before the lockout and others on the move, the trading market is jammed due to teams needing a new a look at potential acquisitions could have a detrimental effect on parts of the free agent market, sources said.
Five general managers told ESPN this week that revoking the Rule 5 draft would force teams to lift scout restrictions and mitigate complications caused by the lockout. The MLB Players’ Association will be required to sign all changes to Rule 5.
Fear of other organizations gathering new information on prospects that have improved over the winter and applying it to the draft Rule 5 initially prompted the scouts’ suspension, sources said. While Rule 5 elections usually do not affect players – they are chosen by a group of those who have spent five years in an organization if they have signed at 18 or earlier, or four years at 19 or older – cost-effectiveness the acquisition makes it particularly important for recovery teams.
Of the 17 Rule 5 pickers last season, six remained with their teams for the entire season: Detroit outfielder Achilles Badu, Boston wrestler Gareth Whitlock, Colorado wrestler Jordan Sheffield, Miami Relief Paul Campbell, Cleveland wrestler and Cleveland wrestler Trevor the relief of Baltimore Tyler Wells. If a team removes a Rule 5 player from their Premier League roster during the season, they must offer it back to the team they selected, for $ 50,000, but if they include it all the time, they can send it back to minor leagues next year.
The lockout, sources said, changed the standard calculation for a Rule 5 project, which usually takes place during winter meetings in December. Teams must use a place on the list of 40 people to choose from under Rule 5, which in standard years carries with it a penalty: less flexibility on the list during the off-season.
Due to the lockout, GM said, the teams want to take advantage of the additional opportunity to scout players. While player acquisitions in 2022 take into account a number of factors, including analysis, the use of scouts to note any changes in the winter – such as a player’s physical condition or a jump in the speed of a fast top – would be new for Rule 5 draft. .
Missing him for a year, an opportunity first raised by The Athletic, would in theory benefit the union as well. As hundreds of free agents have to enter the free market, jobs may be few. By agreeing to remove the Rule 5 draft, teams may instead use the 26-person seats as free agents.
The benefits to the usually elected players – who are not among the 1,200 members of the union – are twofold. The chance to make a Premier League roster is the most important option, but those who have returned to their previous teams do so with a significant increase, which players who were on a 40-man roster receive above the standard salary from the minor leagues. .
Another problem with removing Rule 5 for one season can alleviate it: clarifying the players who will be named later. Several teams can choose PTBNL from last year’s deals, and although they usually have to be selected within six months, blocking prevents any movement on the team’s 40 list.
The Baltimore Orioles are scheduled to pick first in the Rule 5 draft, followed by Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington National. Part of the minor league of the draft took place in December, because the lockout does not hinder the movement of players who are not on the list of 40 people on the team.