Collective Bargaining Agreement

A hard slotting system for the amateur draft is no longer the main issue holding up a new collective bargaining agreement, a source tells Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (Twitter link).  Still being discussed, however, are caps on both overall draft spending and for international signings.

Negotiations over the slotting system were thought to be the last obstacle to a new deal between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.  Bud Selig has been vocal about limiting draft bonuses as a way of ensuring that richer teams don't have an advantage in selecting amateur players, while the MLBPA has been equally adamant about retaining amateur players' ability to negotiate the best possible contracts.  It has been reported by Buster Olney that MLB could yield on this issue since the league doesn't want to enter protracted labor negotiations.

A "draft cap" would have to be quite high for the MLBPA to consider anything that would limit player salaries.  A compromise could be an adjustable cap based on draft order, which Goldstein reports is also being discussed.  Teams with poor records and high first-round choices would have more money to sign their picks, whereas successful teams picking near the bottom of the first round would have a smaller draft cap under which to operate.

SI.com's Melissa Segura reported earlier today that an international signing cap could be in the range of $2-$2.5MM, though it wasn't certain if this total was for all international signings or just for those from the Dominican Republic. 

The last major issue remaining in discussions about a new collective bargaining agreement is signing bonuses for amateur draft picks, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press (link via the Miami Herald). Representatives for MLB and the MLB Players Association met yesterday in New York to discuss the upcoming CBA.

Commissioner Bud Selig wants to cap amateur signing bonuses with a slotting system. However, the players’ union opposes the idea of limiting draft bonuses for amateurs. Discussions about draft bonuses are tied to other parts of the agreement, according to Blum — not surprising given the nature of multi-variable negotiations. 

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wrote last week that Selig is unlikely to fight hard for slotting since doing so would risk extending the negotiations. Selig repeated later in the week that slotting is “really critical" for him.

MLB and the MLB Players’ Association are making “significant progress” toward a five-year extension of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The sides aren’t likely to reach a deal before the weekend, but they could agree to terms before the World Series ends. 

MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner confirmed to Strauss that there is “no lack of urgency” when it comes to finalizing a deal. Weiner said no one issue represents an overwhelming obstacle in the negotiations, though many issues have yet to be fully resolved. Strauss heard from another source who says the sides are working out the “nuts and bolts” of a new deal.

Baseball’s current CBA expires on December 11th, but it appears to be in both sides’ best interests to complete a deal by the time free agency begins in early November. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported this week that players and owners remain far apart on the issue of hard slotting for draft bonuses. Rosenthal also said a deal could occur during the World Series.

Negotiations between the players' union and the owners are moving at a fast pace according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, and he reports that the two sides have all but agreed to add one wild card team per league. A one-game playoff would then determine which wild card team advances. The system could be installed as soon as next season, but no later than 2013.

One of Sherman's sources said it was a done deal, another said it was likely to play out that way. Nothing will become official until the next Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed, however. The current CBA expires in December, but the intensity of the talks gives both sides hope that a new deal will be announced during the World Series. The owners are interested in expanding the playoffs to increase the number of contenders, as well as add inventory to sell a TV network. The one-game playoff would create additional incentive to winning the division.

A major hurdle that remains in the CBA negotiations is the draft, particularly whether or not to include a slotting system. Sherman says there is also a lot of work to be done creating two 15-team leagues, which in part hinges on the sale of the Astros since they are the club most likely to move from the NL to the AL. Six five-team divisions would help create a more balanced schedule.