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MLBTR Glossary

Determining The MLB Draft Order

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Here's how to determine the MLB draft order:

  • You start by upending the previous year's standings. The team with the worst record in the league gets the top pick in the following year's draft.
  • Sometimes, more than one team will have the same record. In 2008, for instance, the Reds, Rockies and Tigers all finished 74-88.
  • In that case, you go back one more season and compare those records. The Rockies finished ahead of the Reds and Tigers in 2007, so they were the last of the three teams to select in 2009. The Tigers finished ahead of the Reds in '07, so they picked after Cincinnati.
  • If a team fails to sign its first rounder, they get a pick in the next year's draft. A team that fails to sign the tenth overall pick gets the 11th overall selection the following year. A team that fails to sign the 21st overall pick, gets the 22nd pick the following year. 
  • The first 10 picks in the draft are protected, so if one of those teams signs a free agent who turned down a qualifying offer, it will lose its second round pick instead.  Any draft pick obtained for failing to sign a pick the previous year is also not subject to forfeiture. 
  • After the first round is the compensatory round, for any team that lost a free agent who turned down a qualifying offer.  Then comes Competitive Balance Round A, then Round 2, then Competitive Balance Round 3, Round 4, etc.  Competitive balance picks are given out through a lottery, as explained here by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.

Free Agency And Qualifying Offers

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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.

Service Time

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Here's another term for the MLBTR Glossary…

A few days of service time can make a difference of millions of dollars for a player, or allow him to veto a trade. It determines when a player goes to arbitration, when he hits free agency and whether he can be traded without his permission. Teams monitor it closely early in a player's career because they can delay free agency or prevent a player from becoming a Super Two if they're careful. It's recorded in years and days, which are separated by a period. So a player with three years and 40 days sees his service time writen 3.040. Service time matters to players at various points throughout their careers:
  • Most players become arbitration-eligible once they have three years of service time. 
  • Super Twos become arbitration before they have three years of service time. 
  • After six years in the majors, players hit the market as free agents. 
  • After ten years, players cannot be traded without permission if they've spent the last five with their current team.

So how is it calculated?

  • Any time spent on the 25-man roster, on the 15 or 60-day DL or on the suspended list counts towards service time. David Riske won't pitch again this year, but he's still collecting service time because he's on the major league DL.
  • Players can't get more than one year's service time in a season, even though the season lasts over 180 days.   
  • A player who's called up from the minors starts collecting service time when he reports to the team. So even though we heard about Gordon Beckham's promotion yesterday, his clock starts ticking today.
  • Traded players who report to their new teams promptly collect service time without interruption. Yesterday's trade doesn't stand in Nate McLouth's way as long as he reaches Atlanta on time.
  • Tom Glavine collected service time yesterday, when he was released, but not today, since players get credit through the day they're released.
  • If a team options a player to the minors for less than 20 days, he still receives credit for a full season.  
  • Excepting last season (which had an early opener) players on Opening Day rosters start collecting service time on the day of the MLB opener, even if their club doesn't play in it.

Ten And Five Rights

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If a ten year veteran has played his last five seasons with his current team, he cannot be traded without permission because he has ten and five rights. Chipper Jones, for example, doesn't need a formal no-trade clause as long as he's with the Braves because his ten and five rights assure him that no deal will go through without his approval. Carlos Beltran's also a ten-year veteran, but the Mets could deal him without permission if he didn't have a no-trade clause since he won't have played five years in New York until after the 2009 season.

MLBTR Glossary

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We're creating a glossary of terms that explains baseball transactions. We hear "service time," "arbitration" and "designated for assignment" constantly; it's time to create a reference tool that explains these terms to MLBTR readers. Here's what we have:

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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