Around Baseball 2024

[BTS]

Fangraphs has added ST stats to their dashboards. They show up by default. Someone needs to be fired over this

[Spanky__99]

Fangraphs has added ST stats to their dashboards. They show up by default. Someone needs to be fired over this

 

[connorp]

 

That looks like the last you tried to pick up a girl in the bar.

[Pendleton]

MLB Free Agency: New MiLB Roster Rule Leaves Some Veterans Struggling For Contracts

February 9, 2024

J.J. Cooper

If you’re a veteran free agent, even one with multiple years of MLB experience, this is proving to be a tough offseason to find a job.

 

We’re not talking about unsigned premium free agents. Even though they haven’t signed yet, Cody Bellinger and Blake Snell aren’t worried about securing a contract. They’re trying to find the best fit and the best possible deal.

 

But this is a tough offseason for players several levels below them on the pecking order. These are the veterans with upper-level minor league experience, and in some cases MLB experience, angling for a MiLB deal with a non-roster invite.

 

These types of contracts have always provided a wonderful foot in the door for players who aren’t perceived as worthy of a 40-man roster spot. Every year, some of those players take a step forward and grab an opportunity. Others struggle and are released at the end of spring training.

 

But the door has slammed closed this year for some of those players.

 

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement agreed between MiLB players and Major League Baseball, MLB had the right to reduce the in-season player limit for domestic MiLB players to 165 players beginning for the 2024 season, which means there is an offseason limit of 175 MiLB players per organization. As expected since the moment the MiLB CBA was agreed upon, MLB has exercised that right. That’s a reduction from the 180 player in-season and 190 player off-season limits from a year ago.

 

In other words, there are 450 fewer domestic U.S. roster slots for players this February compared to this time last year. That means that players who would have signed deals last year with outside shots of making big league teams coming out of camp can’t even land MiLB contracts this offseason.

 

That may not actually mean that there are 450 fewer players on rosters, as not every team has always gone right up to the roster limit in the past. But multiple MLB front office officials said they are getting calls from agents daily trying to find spots for veteran players. In many cases, they have to tell them they have no roster room to sign them.

 

“You can’t take fliers on guys anymore,” said one MLB front office official.

 

Not everyone agrees with this assessment. Other MLB front office officials say teams can always create roster room through releases. They believe players with a clear shot at MLB roles are still easy decisions. After all, if a player has a real shot at a big league role, are you going to turn him down to keep a 19 or 20-year-old role player?

 

But structurally, this year is very different for MLB teams when it comes to MiLB roster management. While the door is opening for teams to move MLB 40-man roster players to the 60-day MLB injured list which frees up additional 40-man roster spots, teams won’t be able to take advantage of the 60-day MiLB injured list until mid-March.

So with many teams sitting at or very close to the 175-player limit currently, those teams are in a situation where signing a non-roster invitee means releasing a younger player to clear a roster spot. It’s a conundrum many of these teams have not really faced before.

 

There’s another odd development from these roster changes. In the past, spring training was the time where players had to battle to make a roster. Before the MLB takeover of the minors in 2020, teams had much larger offseason MiLB rosters, because for every short-season and rookie-ball team a club had, they had 35 additional roster spots. So a team like the New York Yankees, which had two domestic complex league teams, a rookie-ball club and a short-season team, could bring close to 250 players to camp.

 

Now, making the offseason roster may actually be tougher than surviving spring training cutdowns.

 

Each team is allowed to move up to 15 players to the 60-day MiLB injured list in mid-March. Those 60-day IL players will not count toward the roster limit until they are activated off that list. In the case of most teams, there are a number of players, most notably pitchers rehabbing from Tommy John surgeries, who are guaranteed to move onto the 60-day IL as soon as they are eligible to do so. With a 175-player offseason limit and a 165-player in-season limit, a team with 11 or more players slated for the 60-day IL will actually find themselves with roster spots opening up in mid-March. It’s conceivable that a team could break camp on MiLB spring training without releasing anyone.

 

This is a source of frustration for some MLB front office officials who note that having an offseason roster limit hinders their flexibility to try to build the best roster that they can. Teams that used to bring numerous players to spring training in hopes of finding an unexpected bounce-back candidate or a diamond in the rough say that now, they’re much more limited in what they can do.

 

International players do not count toward the player limit until they set foot in the U.S., so the new rules also incentivize teams to wait to bring over players from their complexes in the Dominican Republic until after spring training is over and full-season rosters are sorted out.

 

While this change is somewhat significant, no one can say it was completely unexpected. Both sides collectively bargained this in the first-ever MLB-MiLB Players Association collective bargaining agreement. As is true in any collectively bargained agreement, both sides got some of what they wanted and gave on other aspects.

 

MLB agreed to raise minimum salaries for MiLB players dramatically, guaranteed housing improvements and assure MiLB players that there will not be any contraction of MiLB teams during the life of the current CBA.

 

In return, MiLB players agreed to a 180-player in-season roster limit (and a 190-player offseason limit) and gave MLB the right to reduce that to 165 players in-season and 175 players in the offseason after one year. That phased-in reduction has taken place as expected.

Edited February 10, 2024 by Pendleton

[Spanky__99]

That looks like the last you tried to pick up a girl in the bar.

 

You're holding up the draft as usual, numbnuts.

[connorp]

You're holding up the draft as usual, numbnuts.

 

Will have to take the hit. Understand the rules when windows are missed. I’ll try look in couple hours. Went to Morocco after all

[Spanky__99]

Will have to take the hit. Understand the rules when windows are missed. I’ll try look in couple hours. Went to Morocco after all

 

Oh, you're shopping in Morocco... lol?

 

It's pick 1-7, it's not hard moron.

Edited February 10, 2024 by Spanky99

[connorp]

Oh, you're shopping in Morocco... lol?

 

It's pick 1-7, it's not hard moron.

 

Done. I’ll pick 1-9 when it comes

[L54]

Done. I’ll pick 1-9 when it comes

 

It’s here

[Spanky__99]

Freakin' c-poop... God damned midget...

 

[connorp]

Freakin' c-poop... God damned midget...

 

 

Chillax. Looking now

[connorp]

I don’t really think the draft was as deep as everyone said. Strong Top 5 and then pretty big drop off. Somehow I had bad luck to land outside. Jim doing the lottery, go figure

Sorry to all not in the league but you aren’t talking about anything else anyway

[Jimcanuck]

I don’t really think the draft was as deep as everyone said. Strong Top 5 and then pretty big drop off. Somehow I had bad luck to land outside. Jim doing the lottery, go figure

Sorry to all not in the league but you aren’t talking about anything else anyway

 

The lottery was the bottom 5 teams and you were 7th from the bottom. You weren't even in the lottery.

[connorp]

The lottery was the bottom 5 teams and you were 7th from the bottom. You weren't even in the lottery.

 

Ah I remember now. Everyone started tanking on purpose and when I started realizing what was going on, it was too late. Spanky even played my guys when I tried to join the party

[Laika]

Ah I remember now. Everyone started tanking on purpose and when I started realizing what was going on, it was too late. Spanky even played my guys when I tried to join the party

 

Well you sound dumb there

[Jimcanuck]

Ah I remember now. Everyone started tanking on purpose and when I started realizing what was going on, it was too late. Spanky even played my guys when I tried to join the party

 

Your team is way too strong to finish bottom 5. The fact that you managed a 7th from the bottom is a massive failure in management.

[wamco]

Unsubscribe

[BTS]

Pitchers and catchers report this week and there are still like 30 clear cut MLB players available, and a handful of stars. I wonder if there's anything MLB can do to stop having the worst offseason in professional sports.

[connorp]

Pitchers and catchers report this week and there are still like 30 clear cut MLB players available, and a handful of stars. I wonder if there's anything MLB can do to stop having the worst offseason in professional sports.

 

They prob actually enforce FA rules. Since in the NBA and NFL they sign huge contracts one hour after it opens, you’d assume they started weeks before.

[Stangstag]

Pitchers and catchers report this week and there are still like 30 clear cut MLB players available, and a handful of stars. I wonder if there's anything MLB can do to stop having the worst offseason in professional sports.

 

Ban Scott Boras

[Jimcanuck]

Pitchers and catchers report this week and there are still like 30 clear cut MLB players available, and a handful of stars. I wonder if there's anything MLB can do to stop having the worst offseason in professional sports.

 

Prop up Bally Sports

 

The pot of money for FA isn't there this year, player expectations are not being met. Impasse.

[Laika]

Pitchers and catchers report this week and there are still like 30 clear cut MLB players available, and a handful of stars. I wonder if there's anything MLB can do to stop having the worst offseason in professional sports.

 

Why does it matter when players sign?

 

I have always thought the NBA style was pretty boring. Everything happens in a week, then there is nothing to talk about all offseason.

[John_Havok]

Ban Scott Boras

 

He's only doing what his clients tell him to do. If they wanted to sign earlier they would have.

[wilko]

He's only doing what his clients tell him to do. If they wanted to sign earlier they would have.

 

Ban Scott Boras' clients!

[burlingtonbandit]

Why does it matter when players sign?

 

I have always thought the NBA style was pretty boring. Everything happens in a week, then there is nothing to talk about all offseason.

 

Well for one it generates excitement and fan interest. Also since mlb offseason is before Christmas, it would really help generate more revenue for the teams as well. More ticket sales plus merchandise…

[Laika]

Well for one it generates excitement and fan interest. Also since mlb offseason is before Christmas, it would really help generate more revenue for the teams as well. More ticket sales plus merchandise…

 

I don't think that many people are rushing to the mall in December to buy a Matt Chapman or Cody Bellinger shirsey because their team opened up the wallet

[burlingtonbandit]

I don't think that many people are rushing to the mall in December to buy a Matt Chapman or Cody Bellinger shirsey because their team opened up the wallet

 

Don't think they are going to Dufferin mall but they would be ordering them online... The ticket sales component is way more impactful than merch anyways especially for the earlier in the season games.

[Spanky__99]

Ban Scott Boras' clients!

 

lmao... this post is underrated.

[John_Havok]

Don't think they are going to Dufferin mall but they would be ordering them online... The ticket sales component is way more impactful than merch anyways especially for the earlier in the season games.

 

Certain players ... for sure impact jersey sales in a big way.

 

Ohtani jerseys for the Dodgers couldn't be made fast enough to sell the first few weeks after his signing. He set the record for most jersey sales in a 48 hour period at Fanatics, the previous record being held by Lionel Messi.

[Spanky__99]

Certain players ... for sure impact jersey sales in a big way.

 

Ohtani jerseys for the Dodgers couldn't be made fast enough to sell the first few weeks after his signing. He set the record for most jersey sales in a 48 hour period at Fanatics, the previous record being held by Lionel Messi.

 

MLB jersey sales and merchandise are spread evenly throughout the league. C'mon dude's, it really doesn't matter.