The World Series is over; Now it’s time for MLB Free Agency

With the World Series officially over, all eyes will turn to the off-season and the pending MLB free agency period.

With the World Series over and the Washington Nationals crowned the 2019 Champions, it is time to descend upon one of the baseball writer’s favorite time of the year: MLB free agency.

The off-season is a magical place where trades, free-agent signings, and free agency rumors dominate baseball’s headlines. A time when front office staff and management personnel across the league are doing everything within their power to improve their respective ball clubs.

Some teams are looking for that one player who could be the next piece of a World Series team, someone who could fill the last hole on a squad destined and ready for October baseball.

Other teams are looking for a fresh start, trading veteran fan-favorite players away in order to make the club younger, building the team from the ground up in hopes of creating a dynamic core that baseball historians will talk about for ages.

MLB free agency and the off-season can be a dramatic time for both the organizations and the players, as many players are vying for roster spots in which only 26 people can take part of. Whether you have athletes looking to cash in on mega contracts or veteran players looking to get back into the game, free agency can be both a friend and a foe of any player.

Just ask Dallas Keuchel, who had to wait until 1/3 of the season was over and the June Amateur Draft had passed, a victim of the qualifying offer and poor advice from his agent Scott Boras.

Regardless of what happens during the off-season, there is always plenty of drama and tribulations, underdogs making big splashes and blind trades which have fans either cheering in jubilation or crying for managements head on a stake.

Now that the World Series is over the fun begins.

The World Series is over; Now it’s time for MLB Free Agency

MLB Free Agency Begins/Winter Meetings

Five days after the World Series is when MLB free agency officially/technically begins, as any player designated a free agent is allowed to sign with any team in the league.

While names like Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon will dominate the headlines, there will be a flurry of players moving between teams, all with the common goal of trying to gain a contract to play another year of professional baseball. Some players will be looking to cash in on their previous year’s success, while others may be looking for a minor league contract in order to keep the dream alive another year.

There are a ton of free agents available this off-season, all of which can be found on the link provided.

MLB free agency may dominate the headlines at the beginning of the off-season but look for teams across the league to also utilize the trading system in order to bolster the active roster and maybe even the farm system as well.

On December 9-12, the general managers and their executives will descend on San Diego, California to partake in the winter meetings.

This is a turbulent time when front-office executives from across the league will meet with other organizations in order to discuss trades and gauge reading on who they may be pursuing in MLB free agency. Teams can also meet with possible free agents and their representation in order to try and convince the player to sign with their squad, or vice-versa, convince the team should take a chance on the player.

While teams may not necessarily make deals during the meetings, these talks can start the groundwork for future trades that may not come to fruition for weeks, maybe even months.

This is a busy time for both free agents and general managers, with a flurry of rumors and dealings which could set the course for how the entire off-season may shape up like in 2018.

The World Series is over; Now it’s time for MLB Free Agency

Salary Arbitration/Rule 5 Draft

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For players who have accredited enough MLB service to reach arbitration, a minimum of 3 years but a maximum of 6, December 2, 2019, is a date that quite a few players will have circled on their calendar.

By December 2, players who are on the 40 man roster for each organization must have been tendered a contract for the upcoming season, regardless if it is an arbitration-eligible player or a player with less than 3 years of service time. Players may be non-tendered in order to make room on the roster or negotiate a longer deal and will become free agents during this time.

There are special circumstances where a player with less than 3 years experience but more than 2 years of MLB service time may qualify as a Super Two player, and be eligible for arbitration as well.

Players who qualify for arbitration will usually negotiate with the team and have until January 10, 2020, to come to an agreement. If the two sides cannot come to an agreement by the set date, salary figures are exchanged between the player and the organization, and a panel of arbitrators will decide which figure the player will earn during the upcoming season.

The arbitrator’s decision is final, but both sides can negotiate and hammer out a deal after the January 10th deadline but before the arbitration meetings in mid-February, usually settling on a one year deal (multi-deal years have also occurred, but less frequent).

Each team has players who will be heading to arbitration, with prominent players such as George Springer and Kris Bryant heading into the process and looking to cash in for another consecutive year.

Players have often been very vocal about the arbitration process, and how it feels to have the organization argue why a said player does not deserve to earn a higher salary based on statistics, player comparison, etc.

Another exciting aspect of the off-season is the Rule 5 Draft, where players who are not on the 40 man roster being possibly eligible to be drafted by other MLB teams.

A player who signs at 18 or younger with the current club must have 5 years of professional baseball experience in order to be eligible, while players 19 or older (who sign) only need 4 years of pro ball experience.

Players who are selected in the Rule 5 draft are usually players who have:

-not lived up to their draft potential, and other MLB teams are taking a chance on them succeeding in a different organization/environment

-international players who were drafted at a young age but are on teams with no room on the 40 man roster

-older players who have had recent success in the higher levels of the minor leagues, but are also on teams with no room on the 40 man roster.

Obviously teams can draft players who are eligible for whatever reason they see fit, but drafting a player costs the draftee team $100,000, payable to the organization they selected the player from.

Players drafted during the Rule 5 Draft must remain on the team’s active roster for the respective season. If they fail to make the squad out of spring training or get dropped halfway through the season, the draftee team must offer the player back to the team he was drafted from for $50,000. The previous team may choose to not accept the player, which would allow the player to remain with the current team and can be optioned to the minors.

Teams can also trade Rule 5 players with the above restrictions still in place, or teams can trade full rights for a player if the teams choose to strike a deal.

Essentially, the Rule 5 draft is a $50,000 gamble that a player who hasn’t been given an opportunity on the MLB stage can be a ‘diamond in the rough’ find for the team that drafts him.

Some great players have been taken in the Rule 5 draft and had a successful career, a list that includes George Bell, Josh Hamilton, and Johan Santana.