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

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.