November 01, 2007
CBA Experts Wanted
Do the Yankees get draft compensation if A-Rod signs with another team? If New York decides not to pick up an option on Abreu, do they also get compensation? I know compensation is dependent on offering free agents arbitration. Since A-Rod opted out and Abreu would for all intents and purposes get released, do the Yankees even get a chance to offer these players arbitration?
I know for sure they can offer A-Rod arbitration and get compensated if he signs with another team. I am not sure about Abreu.
The 2006 CBA changed the draft pick compensation for free agents substantially, including the elimination of "Type C" free agents. The current compensation system is as follows:
If a free agent is offered arbitration by Team 1 and instead signs with Team 2, then Team 1 may receive some form of compensation. The compensation is determined by the player - free agents are categorized as Type A, Type B, or nothing at all, and the players are ranked within these categories.
If the free agent is Type B, Team 1 receives what is known as a "sandwich pick" in the following year's amateur player draft. After round 1 (30 selections) in the draft, Team 1 will receive an extra pick. For more info on sandwich picks, please see the section on the amateur draft.
If the free agent is Type A, then:
* If Team 2 has one of the last fifteen draft picks in round 1, Team 1 will receive Team 2's first round draft pick and a sandwich pick after the first round of the draft.
* If Team 2 has one of the first fifteen draft picks in round 1, that pick is protected, and Team 1 would instead receive Team 2's second round pick and a sandwich pick after the first round of the draft.
* If Team 2 signs two Type A free agents, one from Team 1 and one from another team, the team whose free agent ranks highest by major league baseball would receive Team 2's first round pick (or second round pick if the first round pick is protected), and the other team would receive Team 2's pick for the second round (or third round if the first pick is protected). Both teams would still receive a sandwich pick after the first round.
* Once a team has acquired a draft pick by losing a Type A free agent, it cannot lose said pick by signing other Type A free agents; the only picks a team may lose are the ones which it had before the free agency period began.
Cashman has said that if they offer A-Rod arbitration, which they plan on doing, if he signs elsewhere they get compensation.
On Abreu, he's said nothing because I think they're picking up the option.
Don't know if it helps, but here's the mlb q&a about J.D. Drew, which was a similar situation...
Do the Dodgers get draft-choice compensation for J.D. Drew if he signs with another team?
-- Bruce, L., Vancouver, Wash.
That depends on several factors. If he signs with another club by Dec. 1, the Dodgers would receive that club's first-round pick and a sandwich pick. If he is still unsigned by Dec. 1, the Dodgers must offer him salary arbitration to be eligible to receive compensation. But if they offer arbitration, Drew could accept it by Dec. 7 and revert back to the Dodgers at a salary to be determined by arbitrators. If the Dodgers have already replaced him in the lineup and on the payroll, they probably would not take the chance of offering him arbitration and would not be eligible to receive compensation. If arbitration is offered and Drew rejects it, the Dodgers would receive compensation from the club that signs him.
To add:
"If a team declines an option on a player, as long as the player is a true free agent (as opposed to a non-tender), then the team can offer arbitration and get picks. Same for an opt-out. The only exceptions are the rare players who have no-arbitration clauses in their contracts, but we haven't had one of those in a while. "
-Keith Law
Boras had JD Drew's contract negotiated so that the team was not allowed to offer him arbitration. It improves his value if he doesn't cost money and draft picks. Law didn't know what he was talking about.
A-Rod's is not structured that way.
Clemens' deal a few years ago was the same, but as Law worked in a front office for several years, he should have a good idea of generally what is going on. Drew and Clemens seem to be very much the exceptions.