Comments on: A sign and trade deal for Soriano? That's so crazy it just might work!

By: Joey B

Joey B — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:19:08 +0000

They’d still have to give something up, but presumably it would be something less than the equivalent of a #1 pick.

By: Andy L

Andy L — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:33:52 +0000

I don’t really see a major advantage here. Sure, the team trading for Soriano wouldn’t have to give up a draft pick…but they’d have to give up something! The Braves wouldn’t just give him away, would they? Why is this not being discussed?

By: YANKEES1996

YANKEES1996 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:30:40 +0000

I don’t know exactly, that’s why I was asking if the commish would have to sign off. I thought that once a player had agreed to salary arbitration he was bound by that decision. I cannot remember a player who agreed to salary arbitration and was traded the in same off season.

By: Joey B

Joey B — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:46:11 +0000

“It is an intriguing angle and would violate the CBA, at the end of the day you would have to have the stamp of approval of the spineless Mr. Selig wouldn’t you? I wonder what would be offered to get that signature?”
I thought all that was required to trading him before June 1st was the players’ approval, no???

By: YANKEES1996

YANKEES1996 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:52:54 +0000

It is an intriguing angle and would violate the CBA, at the end of the day you would have to have the stamp of approval of the spineless Mr. Selig wouldn’t you? I wonder what would be offered to get that signature?

By: Joey B

Joey B — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:29:14 +0000

It might work, and in terms of the CBA, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. As a RS fan, you get concerned that a guy like Wagner might accept arb, costing you $8M for a good player, but one that you might not necessarily need, sucking away $$$ that might be better spent elsewhere.
If the RS are entitled to a 1st and a comp pick, maybe they settle with Wagner for a slightly higher $$$ number than Atl would want to pay, but accept a prospect woth something less than a #1 draft choice. Atl stays whole on a net basis, Wagent gets slightly more in $$$, the RS get slightly less in terms of prospects, but it provides a guarantee for both Wagner, the RS and Atl.
I don’t think it work as well for position players, since their value is fairly well-established, but for middle inning/closer types, it might lay the groundwork for a more effective trading valuation process. No one will give an 1st rounder for someone like Betancourt, or Cruz last year, and his previous team doesn’t want to walk away empty handed, so a mechanism for establishing a valuation for FAs that I’d call Type B+ might help everyone.