Collective Bargaining Agreement

Under the new CBA, teams that sign the remaining Type A relievers will not be forced to surrender draft picks, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The teams that sign those relievers and certain other Type A free agents will not forfeit draft picks but the teams that lose those players will still receive compensatory picks (from Twitter).

This means teams can sign Ryan Madson, Francisco Rodriguez, Heath Bell, and other top relievers this offseason without penalty.  The measure is not retroactive, however, meaning that the Phillies will still surrender their first-round pick for signing Jonathan Papelbon.  For a full list of this offseason's free agents, including their Type A/B designation, check out MLBTR's free agent tracker.

Furthermore, the new CBA will do away with the Elias rankings altogether starting next season, Rosenthal tweets.  Under the new system, the top free agents will be subject to compensation if teams make them qualifying offers north of $12MM.

Baseball's owners and players have agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that should be announced early next week. Here are some details on the CBA, which ensures 21 years of labor peace for MLB:

• There are rumblings that there will be a tax on teams that don't spend enough on their MLB payroll, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter).
• Dan Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that teams can lose future draft picks if they spend beyond the recommended bonuses.
• Several GMs are livid over the restraints on draft spending, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal also points out that commissioner Bud Selig, Rob Manfred of MLB and union leader Michael Weiner deserve credit for coming to an agreement peacefully.
• There won't be hard caps for draft choices under the new CBA, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). However, there will be recommended bonuses and tax implications for teams that go way over the suggested limits.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding baseball’s upcoming collective bargaining agreement, general managers around the league say they’ve been able to operate as usual to this point in the offseason. None of the six GMs who discussed the topic with MLBTR yesterday said uncertainty about the CBA has slowed them down significantly.

“I think this time, early in the offseason, is always slow,” Mets GM Sandy Alderson said. “A club like ours is not anxious to give up draft picks.”

The Mets are one of many clubs that will remain relatively quiet until they see which ranked free agents obtain offers of arbitration from their former teams seven days from now. In the meantime, the Mets are in limbo, since major changes to the free agent compensation system remain possible.

“There’s some uncertainty about compensation as it relates back to the CBA,” Alderson continued, “but as I said, I don’t think uncertainty is all that meaningful right now because we’re waiting.”

Other general managers have been too busy for the pace of the CBA talks to slow them down. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, for example, has already conducted a managerial search this offseason — and his team wrapped up its World Series title less than three weeks ago. The CBA will affect Mozeliak once the players and owners reach an agreement, but the Cardinals have been too busy for it to slow them down so far.

“It doesn’t feel like it yet,” he said.  “It doesn’t seem to be creating any type of paralysis on movement that I’m aware of.”

Like Mozeliak, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer is conducting a managerial search. Hoyer reads up on CBA talks when possible, but at this point he’s more concerned with hiring a manager and improving his team’s run prevention than the collective bargaining process.

“It’s something that’s on the back of our minds,” Hoyer said. “Hopefully it happens soon and when it does we’ll look over the details and make decisions.”

Pirates GM Neal Huntington hasn’t had to adjust to a new front office or hire a manager like some of his peers in the NL Central. He says it’s basically business as usual in Pittsburgh, but acknowledges there’s some hesitation.

“You have to be aware of what the rumblings and rumors are on what could change and what the impact would be,” he said. “At the same time, you’ve got to conduct business and keep moving forward to improve the quality of play on the field.”

Chris Antonetti of the Indians echoed Huntington's thoughts, explaining that the uncertainty surrounding the new labor agreement slows offseason movement down to a degree — especially when it comes to ranked free agents.

“To some extent it can,” he said, “depending on the compensation issues. But there are other players where that doesn’t really affect [discussions]. You’re still able to conduct some business, but once we have clarity on the CBA, I think that will give everyone the framework they need to progress.”

Though GMs have been able to work uninhibited to this point, they’ll want certainty within the week. Arbitration decisions for ranked free agents are due next Wednesday and it will be significantly easier for teams and players to progress if the sides announce a CBA, and the uncertainty that currently surrounds issues such as draft pick compensation disappears.

CBA negotiations are temporarily on hold, but once the two sides resume talking, a deal could be reached quickly, reports Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Stark says that players and owners are "on the precipice" of a new labor deal, with discussions potentially resuming Thursday and moving quickly from there. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (Twitter link) believes a deal could be announced as soon as Friday.

Two of Stark's sources agree that a deal will be consummated soon, with one saying the two sides are "within striking distance" and the other saying they're "on the verge of an agreement." Specifics on a few issues still need to be worked out, but barring any unexpected setbacks, none of the issues should prevent a new agreement.

Stark also hears that free agent compensation won't be eliminated, but will be modified so that teams only surrender a top draft pick when signing "elite" free agents. Earlier today, we heard that Type B compensation is expected to be eliminated as early as this offseason, and that compensation for Type A free agents might be tweaked as well.

While most of the news concerning a new deal is positive, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that many teams aren't happy about changes that could limit amateur draft spending. One executive called the proposed changes "incredibly short-sighted," saying they'd hurt many clubs.

Joe Torre, MLB’s executive VP for baseball operations, briefed reporters on some details of the general managers’ meetings this afternoon. Here are some notes from his discussion with reporters…

• There were no discussions about roster limits in September, but MLB hasn’t ruled out adapting roster sizes late in the year. “It’s something that we’re seriously considering,” Torre said. Rosters expand from 25 to 40 each September and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see MLB reduce roster size for the regular season’s final month.
• The GMs discussed potential changes to the replay process. MLB may add replay for fair or foul calls, but there’s ongoing discussion about the drawbacks and benefits of expanding replay in this way.
• Realignment was not up for discussion today. It's the domain of commissioner Bud Selig and appears to be linked to the ongoing talks for a new collective bargaining agreement. 
• Player safety in Venezuela did come up in today's meetings. Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was kidnapped in Venezuela last week before being recovered by authorities, so there’s concern about the safety of MLB players in Venezuela.