Major League Deal

by rutgersjpm on Aug 18, 2009 1:34 AM EDT

Wondering if someone might be able to provide a little input. What is the major difference between a draftee signing a major league deal vs. a minor league deal? It seems that reports out there emphasize the fact that Ackley and Strasburg signed MLB deals. What does this mean for the Mariners and Nats? Are these guys immediately added to the 40 man roster? If you know of a link that explains it that'll do just fine. I couldn't find anything legitimate.

Tweet Comment 16 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

It has several impacts, most of them negative for the signing team

1. The player is immediately added to the 40-man roster.
2. Assuming he is not assigned to the MLB club (Strasburg could be, Ackley won’t be), he will use up one of his four* option years immediately.
3. Instead of being paid according to the minor league and MLB rookie pay scale, he will be paid whatever the contract calls for on a yearly basis.
4. However, his signing bonus can potentially be spread out over a period of time.

The most important impact is #2. Normally a team controls a draftee for seven seasons (if you are drafted in 2009, you become a minor league free agent in October 2015). But a player with a major league contract signed in 2009 (if not called up) runs out of options in April 2013, forcing the team to call him up or waive him.

*Players who are added to the 40-man roster prior to spending two seasons in the minor leagues receive a fourth option year in addition to the normal three.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Aug 18, 2009 1:52 AM EDT reply actions

so what if jacob turner isnt ready by 2013?

he cant be in the minors?

by matthewmafa on Aug 18, 2009 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions

He’ll either need to be put on the MLB roster or be subject to waivers

by jibs on Aug 18, 2009 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions

If he's not ready then the Tigers are, as you say, shit out of luck

by PaulThomas on Aug 18, 2009 5:41 AM EDT up reply actions

I believe there is some kind of stipulation to save that 4th option

The Rangers used it with Julio Borbon. He either started out in the rookie league or was only in Spokane (our short season league) for a couple weeks before going back to rookie league.

I don’t know the exact rules regarding it but it was done so as to not use an option that first “season”. Thus he still has two option years left after this season, although if he spends all of next season in the bigs he will lose one since he wouldn’t qualify for a 4th option year if he hadn’t been given a ML deal.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Aug 19, 2009 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions

You have to spend 20 days in the minors for the option to count as used.

Don’t know if that was the “out” in this case, though.

by aCone419 on Aug 19, 2009 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions

It makes perfect sense for college guys

It seems kind of dumb for high schoolers, and often isn’t really in their best interests, IMO.

by Fanon on Aug 18, 2009 2:56 AM EDT reply actions

Wily Mo Pena

May have wrecked his career

by alskor on Aug 18, 2009 5:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Delmon Young too

Though it’s still a little early to say.

by OldDutchPots on Aug 18, 2009 5:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Delmon didn't sign a major league deal

And he wrecked through AA, and continuously stunk thereafter.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Aug 18, 2009 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Are you sure

I know the Twins aren’t able to send him down without him clearing waivers.

by smoooooth on Aug 18, 2009 9:04 AM EDT up reply actions

Here it is

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/030909dyoungsigns2.html
sure looks like a major leauge contract to me

by smoooooth on Aug 18, 2009 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Precisely

I consider his stupid deal being the single greatest thing that ever stood between Wily Mo and having a halfway decent career.

by Fanon on Aug 18, 2009 6:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Here you go

http://ussmariner.com/2009/08/17/quick-primer-on-major-league-contracts/

Dave Cameron answers your question.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Aug 18, 2009 3:49 AM EDT reply actions

I've been hearing some grumbling about the money.

To be frank, the contracts that Strasburg and Ackley got are hardly that big of a concern.

Let’s assume two things:

1). That both contracts buy out at least one arbitration year (Ackley’s could be two).
2). That both players play to their potential.

A normal player on the 40 man roster on a major league contract gets the minimum of $390,000. Over three years, that’s about 1.2 million. How much money would players like Ackley and Strasburg be able to ask for in their first arbitration years?

Typically the amount doesn’t go over a couple of million, but we’re talking about a potential ace pitcher and a quality hitting center fielder. I don’t think Strasburg would be able to ask for ~13 million in his first arbitration year (which would equal out to his contracted amounts) and Ackley couldn’t ask for the remaining 8 of his, but they’d still get paid. A 3 million first year contract wouldn’t be absurd.

And then, they’re still under team control for the remaining years of the 6 year period. So they can’t negotiate with another team for the remaining arbitration years. Of the two, Strasburg could still make a lot of scratch in arbitration, but Ackley might have to settle for less.

And, remember, we’re also assuming they reach their potential. So we’re talking 4 win players here, minimum. The equivalent of Ichiro and Johan Santana for less than fair market value. Sure, it’s a gamble that they reach that potential, but those would still be awesome deals for the respective teams.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Aug 18, 2009 3:58 AM EDT reply actions