Free Agency And Qualifying Offers
Here's another one for the MLBTR Glossary…
Once a player has six years of service time, he can become a free agent as long as he isn't under contract for the next season. This gives him the right to negotiate a contract with any team. Players don't typically become free agents until they've served six years in the majors, but some hit free agency earlier if they're released or if their teams choose not to offer them contracts. Here's the timeline for players who hit free agency after collecting six years service time.
- Eligible players become free agents at 8am central time on the day following the day that the last game of the World Series had started.
- From that point up until 10:59pm central time on the fifth day following the World Series, known as the Quiet Period, teams and free agents or their representatives may discuss interest, potential role, the advantages and disadvantages of playing for that team, the length of the contract, guarantee provisions, and no-trade provisions. During this period, players may not negotiate terms or contract with new teams, but they may negotiate with their former team.
- The last day of the Quiet Period at 4pm central time is the deadline for teams to make Qualifying Offers to free agents. A Qualifying Offer is a one-year contract equal to the average salary of the 125 highest-paid players for the prior season. For 2014, that amount is $14.1MM. One loophole: any player traded during the season is not eligible for a Qualifying Offer. Therefore, it is greatly to a player's advantage to be traded during his contract year.
- A qualified free agent has until 4pm central time on the seventh day following the conclusion of the Quiet Period to accept a Qualifying Offer, which no response counted as a rejection. Should a player accept, he is a signed player for the upcoming season. No player has yet to accept in the two years the Qualifying Offer system has been in place. There is no limit to the number of Qualifying Offers a player may receive in his career.
- For any player who declined a Qualifying Offer and signed a Major League contract with another club prior to the next Rule 4 draft, the former clubs receive an amateur draft choice in the reverse order of their won-lost percentage in the recently completed season, with the selections beginning immediately following the last regular selection in the first round of Rule 4 Draft. If a Club is entitled to more than one Special Draft Choice, its selections will be slotted in succession. If two or more Clubs are tied, the Clubs shall select in the reverse order of their winning percentages in the season prior to the recently completed season, with any remaining ties to be resolved based on preceding season winning percentages.
- Any team that signs a Qualified free agent from another team must forfeit its highest available pick in the next Rule 4 draft, with the first ten picks protected as well as those acquired for the failure to sign a player the previous year. If a team signs more than one Qualified free agent, it must forfeit its highest remaining pick each time. Forfeiting a pick requires giving up the associated draft pool money as well. Picks obtained through assignments and in the competitive balance and forfeited draft pick lotteries are subject to forfeiture.
- Teams and players may not enter into any agreement, understanding, or contract, or make any kind of promise not to make or accept a Qualifying Offer.
- Any player who signed a free agent contract may not be traded until June 15th without his consent.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post, which draws heavily upon the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Mets Claim Pat Misch Off Waivers
According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, the Mets claimed Pat Misch off waivers from the Giants and assigned him to Triple A Buffalo. Misch, 27, struggled in four games for the Giants this year. He's starting in the minors, but could provide relief at the major league level for a team that just lost J.J. Putz for eight to ten weeks.
Padilla Clears Waivers
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Vicente Padilla has cleared waivers. This comes as a surprise to no one, as Padilla still has roughly $8MM remaining on his contract for this year alone. Wilson wonders if Padilla will pitch better now that he knows none of the 29 other teams want to pick him up if they have to pay his salary. He'll be a free agent if the Rangers buy out his option after the season, so Padilla can use the next four months to rebuild his value.
Orioles Release Jamie Walker
2:44pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN.com reports that it's official; the O's announced they've released Walker.
1:55pm: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles will release lefty reliever Jamie Walker. Baltimore still owes Walker about $3MM, but they were no longer satisfied with his production. To replace Walker, they called up Alberto Castillo, another lefty who pitched for the O's last year and has performed well at Triple A Norfolk so far in 2009.
Zrebiec writes that the move is "not all that surprising" because lefties are hitting .458 against Walker this year. The pitcher signed a three year deal worth $12MM before the 2007 season.
Heyman On Braves, Tejada, Helton
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Braves gave off the impression that Tom Glavine was merely a "famous, low-priced insurance policy" when they released him two days ago. He has more on the Braves and the rest of the majors; let's take a look:
- John Smoltz told Heyman that he once turned down $53MM from the Yankees to sign with the Braves for $30MM.
- The Braves are now unable to add payroll.
- That could make it tough for them to reacquire Mark DeRosa, who's on the block and would be a nice piece for Atlanta.
- One executive said Justin Upton has "a lot of Ken Griffey Jr. in him." Check out Tim's Q&A with Upton to see how the former number one pick handles the hype.
- Miguel Tejada's name has surfaced in trade talks, but most contenders see him as a third baseman and some don't like his bat anymore.
- The Rockies are willing to discuss dealing "nearly every player" they have. Heyman says "they'd probably love to find someone" to take on Todd Helton's contract. He's owed about $50MM still, so I'd think the chances are slim.
Braves Interested In Penny?
2:09pm: MLB.com's Mark Bowman heard from a major league source who said the Braves have no interest in Penny. Bowman writes that "the Braves won't be among the teams showing interest in the big right-hander."
1:42pm: According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney the Braves are "in conversation with the Red Sox" about Brad Penny, who is pitching better as the season progresses. The Red Sox have been scouting Jeff Francoeur, who the Braves may be interested in moving, in part because he makes over $3MM this year and the Braves are watching their payroll carefully.
Jason Bay’s Next Contract
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Jason Bay's focusing on baseball for now and sorting out his next contract after the season, when he becomes a free agent. Any number of teams could go after Bay. After all, his OPS is over 1.000 and he's second in the league in both homers and RBI. He'll be 31 when the season ends, so he should have several productive years left. He may be able to command as much as $70MM for five years, as J.D. Drew did. Morosi considers three possible suitors for Bay:
- The Red Sox don't have an obvious player within their system who's ready to replace Bay, so Morosi says he'd be surprised if they don't resign him. Bay says Boston "is high on the list" of teams he'd want to sign with.
- The Yankees could be looking for corner outfield help this offseason, so it's not safe to rule them out.
- The Mariners probably wouldn't outbid either the Yankees or the Red Sox, but Bay lives near Safeco Field in Seattle and he says it's one of his "possible destinations."
Odds And Ends: Nats, Astros, Putz, Brewers
More links for Friday afternoon…
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post believes the Lerner family and Stan Kasten have to take responsibility for a weak Nationals team and turn it around in Washington.
- Former Nats GM Jim Bowden told WUSA9 that in retrospect he wishes he'd kept a closer eye on the Nationals' actions in the Dominican.
- More from Richard Justice on his chat with Astros owner Drayton McLane. It's "likely" that Ivan Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Miguel Tejada will be shopped.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says he wouldn't be surprised if Braves GM Frank Wren calls the Rockies about Ryan Spilborghs, now Colorado's fifth outfielder.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Vicente Padilla wants to stay with the Rangers.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports J.J. Putz will undergo elbow surgery Tuesday and miss at least two months.
- An interesting tweet from Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: There's talk of the Red Sox having interest in J.J. Hardy.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers are eyeing pitching in this year's draft. They'll have to wait until late in first round to acquire any, however, as they select 26th.
Glavine: “A Couple” Teams Have Called
The AP (via CBS Sports) reports that Tom Glavine says he's received calls from "a couple" clubs that are interested in bringing him on as a pitcher, while others have called him to discuss different jobs. Glavine didn't name the clubs that called and said it would take "a lot" for him to come back and pitch.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Glavine, Yankees, Phillies
On this date nine years ago, the Marlins selected Adrian Gonzalez with the first pick of the amateur draft. The 16-year-old would sign a deal later that day that included a $3MM signing bonus. Two trades later, Gonzalez leads the National League with 22 home runs. The 2009 draft is in four days, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse propose a three-way deal in which the Cubs would send Carlos Zambrano to the White Sox and the Padres would send Jake Peavy to the Cubs.
- River Ave. Blues takes a look at what the Yankees may need before the trade deadline and who they may be able to deal with.
- Phlavio's Corner has a list of 20 players that could be moved and where each might end up.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham analyzes the early returns on some of the trades from this past offseason.
- Jorge Says No! argues that the Mariners might be better off moving Russell Branyan sooner rather than later.
- MLB Notebook comes up with a list of five clubs that could land Tom Glavine.
- Dodgers Rumors feels that Glavine is a perfect fit for the Dodgers.
- We Should Be GM's says the Phillies need to add a starting pitcher now and generates a list of players to target.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.