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The Type A Free Agents Who Would Cost Picks
Grant Balfour, Rafael Soriano, Adrian Beltre, and Carl Pavano are the remaining free agents for whom teams will have to surrender draft picks. Like Victor Martinez, Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, Jayson Werth, Scott Downs and Cliff Lee, Balfour, Soriano, Beltre and Pavano turned down offers of arbitration after being ranked as Type A free agents. This means their new teams will each have to surrender a high draft choice in 2011.
Those choices could come in the first round, the second round, or even later. Since the Tigers, Red Sox, White Sox, Nationals, Angels and Philllies have already surrendered their top picks, they would only have to surrender a second or third rounder to sign Balfour, Soriano, Beltre or Pavano. The 15 teams that finished the 2010 season in the lower half of the standings have protected first round picks, so the Rays, Red Sox and Twins will not receive a first round selection if a team like the Mariners or Royals signs their player.
At this point, only 11 teams could lose their first round pick. The Rockies, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Padres, Rangers, Reds, Braves, Giants, Twins, Yankees and Rays are the last remaining clubs that could lose 2011 first rounders. The Twins and Rays will not lose their picks if they re-sign their own players, however.
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