MONDAY: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more on the topic. He says:
Major League Baseball, the players’ union, the Diamondbacks and Cruz’s agents are in discussions to facilitate a sign-and-trade involving Cruz that adheres to the collective-bargaining agreement. Free agents cannot be traded before June 15 without their consent, but the union will permit Cruz and other Type A players to waive that right, according to Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice-president of labor relations.
Rosenthal says the D’Backs are not discussing this kind of scenario with Hudson’s agents, and it’s unknown whether Cabrera and the White Sox are talking about it. Rosenthal says there would be a window, perhaps 48 hours, for the team to make a deal. If no deal is made then the player would remain a free agent.
SUNDAY: La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests MLB might allow for a workaround for Type A free agents:
There have been rumblings that Major League Baseball, which is aware that Type A free agents like Juan Cruz and infielders Orlando Hudson and Orlando Cabrera have been hindered by the compensation rules, are willing to make it easier for teams to sign then trade those free agents. For example, Arizona could sign Cruz to a contract that the Twins are willing to take on. The Twins and Diamondbacks would then work out a trade for Cruz. The Twins could land Cruz without losing a draft pick.
No word on what MLB would do to facilitate these sign n’ trades. Perhaps they’d just give their approval.
Neal notes that the Twins have discussed Cruz internally, but wouldn’t be willing to give up their #23 pick in the June draft for him. Also keep in mind that the Twins just brought in reliever Luis Ayala.
