The 2021-22 international signing period opens on January 15, as for the second straight season, the usual July 2 opening date for the int’l was pushed back due to the pandemic. This new signing period will run from January 15 to December 15, and it remains to be seen exactly what will happen with international signing procedures going forward. If the rules stay the same, presumably the 2023-24 period would begin on July 2, 2023, though it is possible the int’l market could be significantly altered (or perhaps replaced altogether by an international talent draft) in the next collective bargaining agreement.
For now, however, teams are still operating under the old bonus pool rules. All 30 teams receive an allotted hard cap on their international signings that cannot be exceeded, though any player signed for $10K or less aren’t counted against the cap. While teams have been allowed to trade draft pool space in past years, trades were prohibited both for this int’l signing period and for the 2020-21 period.
As per Baseball America’s Ben Badler, here are the bonus pool amounts assigned to every team…
- Angels: $5,179,700
- Astros: $5,179,700
- Athletics: $5,179,700
- Blue Jays: $4,644,000
- Braves: $5,179,700
- Brewers: $5,721,200
- Cardinals: $6,262,600
- Cubs: $5,179,700
- Diamondbacks: $6,262,600
- Dodgers: $4,644,000
- Giants: $5,179,700
- Guardians: $6,262,600
- Mariners: $5,179,700
- Marlins: $5,721,200
- Mets: $5,179,700
- Nationals: $5,179,700
- Orioles: $6,262,600
- Padres: $6,262,600
- Phillies: $5,179,700
- Pirates: $6,262,600
- Rangers: $5,179,700
- Rays: $5,721,200
- Reds: $5,721,200
- Red Sox: $5,179,700
- Rockies: $6,262,600
- Royals: $6,262,600
- Tigers: $5,721,200
- Twins: $5,721,200
- White Sox: $5,179,700
- Yankees: $5,179,700
The four pool sizes were determined by a number of factors. The largest possible bonus pool ($6,262,600) was assigned to the eight teams slotted into Competitive Balance Round B in last summer’s amateur draft, while the next-largest pool ($5,721,200) went to the six teams who were in Competitive Balance Round A.
Fourteen other teams have $5,179,700 to work with in their pools, while only the Blue Jays and Dodgers have the lowest allotment ($4,644,000). Toronto and Los Angeles each lost $500K of their international pools as part of the penalty for a signing a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer at the onset of the 2020-21 free agent offseason — the Jays signed George Springer, and the Dodgers signed Trevor Bauer.
Great, another $6.2MM for Nutting to add to his ‘Scrooge McDuck’ vault.
That’s not how international money works. It’s the right to spend $6.2 million and there’s no such thing as saving money toward international signings. If you’ve actually been paying attention to what the Pirates have been doing, you’d know that they have already signed some notable international prospects.
“The four pool sizes were determined by a number of factors.”
What factors? They explained why the Dodgers and Blue Jays were the lowest. They didn’t really explain what causes a team to be in “competitive round A”and what made them not fall into “competitive round B.” At first I thought it was based on team payroll but then I saw the Padres were benefitting at the top level and they spent a ton last year. Can they explain what causes a team being in competitive round A or B or neither? It’s not clear at all in this article.
It’s based on a market score which combines revenue and market size. The same score that determines which 14 teams get a competitive balance pick in Round A ( supplemental pick after the first round) and Round B (supplemental pick after the second round).
There’s a group of 8 and a group of 6 and they alternate between round A and Round B from year to year. Those that had a round A pick last year will be in Round B next year. Those that had a Round B pick last year get a bigger bonus pool this year (which was supposed to start on July 2 but was postponed) and will have a Round A pick in 2022.
Wow. That sounds unnecessarily complicated. Baseball has to be the only sport where that exists. I get the idea of teams getting additional picks when they QO a player and he leaves to another team. I’m all for smaller market teams but I’m not sure I support the idea if them getting extra first and second round draft picks when they didn’t even lose a player they extended a qualifying offer to. That’s pretty unique to put it politely.
Well, MLB has a wider gap between big and small markets in raising local revenue. During the regular season, the NFL and NBA have huge national TV deals, but MLB’s revenues are mostly all local. This is why ESPN is cutting from 90 games to 30 in their next contract.
Also, draft picks in MLB are not nearly the sure thing that they are in the NFL or the NBA, where first round picks and many second rounders become starters right away.
I agree, especially for teams like the Cardinals and the Padres. Neither team deserves an extra draft pick and it’s one of the main reasons why they have built such good farm systems. The scouting certainly helps but when you get an extra pick every year in the 70-80 range, you can really increase your talent level quite a bit if you do your homework.
Yeah. It doesn’t make sense to me. Since when are the Padres and their $200 million payroll considered a “small market team?” Same thing with the Cardinals. They regularly afford to go out and get guys like Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. They also make the playoffs all the time. I don’t see why they deserve draft pick help over a team like the Blue Jays who rarely ever make the playoffs and don’t have a single player making half as much as Arenado.
I guess I can kind of(?) understand why they do this but the determining factors need to change if teams like San Diego and St. Louis are benefitting at the top while Toronto is considered at the bottom.
Pirates already signed Tony Blanco. He’s built like a tank, 6’5, 230 lbs at just 16 y.o.
excessive growth hormone intake?
A horse is a horse of course of course
So sj, have you ever heard of a talking horse?
Outliers exist
If they only lost $500,000, why is that amount $535,700 less than the next highest amount?
Sales tax?
When will the White Sox sign Oscar Colas?!
The “Cuban Ohtani”!
185 cm 94 kg
Please use American measures. We don’t use metric here. Thanks!
Hear hear! I get so confused
Divide cm by 2.54 and multiply kg by 2.2 to get inches and lbs, respectively.
Then divide inches by 12 to get feet.
It’s not so hard.
Only two types of countries, those that use the metric system, and those that have been to the moon.
Sounds like Colas to be signed this weekend!
It’s nice to see the Braves back up to a full allotment, after the Coppolella scandal.
MLB with the free handout to the Cardinals every year…. “small market” yet one of the richest owners
Agreed. And the Padres get the same as the Pirates?
Can’t help it if we pack the stadium, love our team and have owners that put competitive teams on the field year in and year out. At the same time, any metro area have as many murders here and you’d be small market too….
stollcm
Can’t help it if we pack the stadium,
================================
Kudos to the Cards fans. I don’t remember them ever not having a good crowd. Poor record, poor weather, whatever, there is always a sea of red there.
Perhaps they are a good team because they get all these breaks. Also, little correlation from attendance to franchise worth/revenue.
Still have to execute on those breaks. Agree wholeheartedly on correlation with attendance and worth….last little while is proof of that.
The Cardinals getting this break is an absolute joke.
They have been getting it every year. They also get an extra supplemental draft pick every year. Their payroll has been over $140M and over every year since 2016, they are good team and they get rewarded….. It is not an even playing field. No wonder teams like Kansas City and Pittsburgh can’t compete.
Payroll doesn’t really impact competitiveness. Ask the Rays. It’s how the org is run top to bottom. That’s why the Pirates can’t compete. Has little to do with market. Teams may still get breaks, but you have to be able to execute on the breaks in my eyes.
Bauer, the gift that keeps on giving.
Rangers better spend big on J2..clear my throat..J15 might be last season to lock up young talent. Nats saying Soto’s little bro in 2023? Can we sign Jung and Leiters little brothers for the future and have some certainty?
Maybe there is a formal agreement to continue last year’s bonus pool amounts, but I haven’t heard of it, nor any agreement to continue part of the last CBA. If there is, it’s not surprising that international amateur players would be the first ones to get thrown under the bus.
There hasn’t been any talk of an international draft during this year’s CBA talks. When Bud Selig left office, it was at the top of the list of unfinished business. It was even written into his last CBA that they could implement one, but they never agreed on the terms. At this point, the owners might be satisfied that they have a hard bonus cap on spending that no team has crossed because of the steep penalties.
It’s funny looking at the list of top int’l prospects. Most are 16-17, then you have Colas at 23. At least he should be ready sooner.
How old was Robert when he signed? They moved him slow and he had multiple setbacks, but for someone who was young and hyped it didn’t take long
Robert was 19
Maybe a 2022 September call up, but Colas will likely be a key Sox contributor in 2023.
So it doesn’t make sense for Sox to sign a long term contract with any FA OF for 2022.
Let’s hope if they go to an international draft they they combine it with the mlb draft rather than have teams tank and never put money into their team to get two first round picks in both drafts! It would really destroy and punish teams that continue to try year in and year out to be competitive.