Lots of good stuff on the new Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement, which looks to be hammered out and approved any day now.
↵Some of the highlights include:
↵A draft cap on spending. It's not a hard slotting system, but it will penalize teams who spend over a certain threshold in a draft. The penalties sound like they could range anywhere from a tax for small infractions to loss of first round picks for bigger ones.
↵Compensation pick changes. Sounds like Type B compensation will be going away starting next season. Type A compensation will also be dramatically changed, so only the truly elite players force teams to give up draft picks. That means no more Octavio Dotel's in the Type A pool, which should make the players union happy.
↵Things not included? An international draft (for now) and any word on HGH testing, a revised luxury tax and other assorted sundries that have been discussed this year. I expect some of those to be included in the actual agreement, but we probably won't know which until the agreement is actually released.
↵First off, though, it's nice to hear that Clint Barmes will still fetch Houston a draft pick in compensation this season. Makes losing him that much easier.
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