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I am all for this, for two obvious reasons - it not only allows players to begin their careers sooner, it gives card companies more time to get their autographs into draft products.
From today's Ask BA:
However one feels about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of MLB refusing to approve over-slot deals until just before the signing deadline, it delays the pro careers of many talented young men who are very eager to get them started (as are the teams that drafted them). This seems unfair, especially seeing that slotting doesn't seem to be working very well anyway. Moving up the deadline a month of so would make sense. MLB could continue its policy, but draftees getting over-slot money could begin their pro careers in the same year they got drafted. Seems like a win-win. Your thoughts?
Rob Dorsey
Silver Spring, Md.
Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2011, and changes to the draft will be a main focus in talks for a new deal. It's uncertain whether MLB will get a mandated slotting system, but it's a near lock that we'll get an earlier signing deadline. I'm guessing it will be around July 15, and I'd like to suggest they move it from midnight to the afternoon, as they did with the July 31 trade deadline.
When the original signing deadline came out of the last CBA negotiations, MLB foolishly believed it would give the teams extra leverage. But agents don't care when the deadline is. They just need a deadline to back teams up against. In the four years with a deadline, agents have learned that MLB will delay over-slot deals as long as possible and teams will pay more if players hold out longer, taking away incentive to get a deal done quickly.
Moving the deadline to July 15 wouldn't have any appreciable affect on the cost of signing draftees. Both the teams and the players would be thrilled to get players six weeks of exposure to pro ball before their first full season. An earlier deadline also would benefit college and summer coaches, who wouldn't have to worry about losing players right before school or league playoffs started.
From today's Ask BA:
However one feels about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of MLB refusing to approve over-slot deals until just before the signing deadline, it delays the pro careers of many talented young men who are very eager to get them started (as are the teams that drafted them). This seems unfair, especially seeing that slotting doesn't seem to be working very well anyway. Moving up the deadline a month of so would make sense. MLB could continue its policy, but draftees getting over-slot money could begin their pro careers in the same year they got drafted. Seems like a win-win. Your thoughts?
Rob Dorsey
Silver Spring, Md.
Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2011, and changes to the draft will be a main focus in talks for a new deal. It's uncertain whether MLB will get a mandated slotting system, but it's a near lock that we'll get an earlier signing deadline. I'm guessing it will be around July 15, and I'd like to suggest they move it from midnight to the afternoon, as they did with the July 31 trade deadline.
When the original signing deadline came out of the last CBA negotiations, MLB foolishly believed it would give the teams extra leverage. But agents don't care when the deadline is. They just need a deadline to back teams up against. In the four years with a deadline, agents have learned that MLB will delay over-slot deals as long as possible and teams will pay more if players hold out longer, taking away incentive to get a deal done quickly.
Moving the deadline to July 15 wouldn't have any appreciable affect on the cost of signing draftees. Both the teams and the players would be thrilled to get players six weeks of exposure to pro ball before their first full season. An earlier deadline also would benefit college and summer coaches, who wouldn't have to worry about losing players right before school or league playoffs started.
