Phillies after Pierre?

[CubColtPacer]

All in all, removing the draft pick compensation will likely in the long term turn out to be more beneficial to the Cubs than harmful. In this particular offseason with the impending free agency of Pierre and Ramirez, it could not be so...but the Cubs are usually active in free agency. This will lessen the blow when the Cubs sign the Howry/Eyre types like they have in the past.

 

This will also expedite some free agent signings, as teams won't have to wait to see if another team offers arbitration before trying to sign that player.

 

I'm more upset that this rule change is coming a year too late. It would have been nice to have those round 2-4 picks this year.

 

I agree here. It will end up helping the Cubs much more than it hurts. This is one of those bad for the small market teams good for baseball kind of things. I'm saying it will be good for baseball because this will have 2 main effects. 1) It will make teams a little more likely to dive into free agency without the problem of having to give up their picks. Fans love signing FA's, and so this is a way to make the fans a little more excited. Second, it will increase the number of trades at the deadline. Washington won't hold on to Soriano for example-the increase of trades will make it more exciting also. Will this actually help baseball? I don't know-but I think it will increase interest in the game.

[CuseCubFan69]

If this does go through it makes Florida all the more smarter for dealing Pierre in the first place.

[Laura]

While the best case scenario is Pierre staying, being offered arbitration, gets classified as a Type A, and turns it down to sign with another team, a trade would most likely mean that Hendry is not going to pursue a new contract for him. From a fan perspective, it would be a little more comforting for the latter to happen going into the offseason.

 

Thats why I'd love to see him traded. Hendry gets all moony-eyed whenever he's asked about Pierre. Eliminating the possibility that he'll be re-signed is worth foregoing the possibility of draft pick compensation (which may not happen and would require Hendry to 1) not re-sign him and 2) offer him arbitration).

 

If Pierre is still here October 1, it's incredibly likely that he'll still be here next year with a fat new contract to boot.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

to be fair, the compensation thing isn't a done deal. Jim Callis said he won't believe it until it actually comes to pass in the offseason.

 

The Jim Callis quote:

 

Mark (NJ): Is it true that Compensation picks are going away with the new CBA??? What kind of impact does that have on the draft? Also, why are teams not allowed to trade pciks?

 

SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:11 PM ET ) I'll believe it when I see it. I had been told it was being talked about, and I'm not sure I fully believe these reports that it's a done deal. Believe me, in my nearly 20 years at BA, many, many draft changes have been discussed and almost none of them have been implemented. Eliminating comp picks would mean the big-market teams would hold onto their first-round choices more often, and about a dozen picks between the first and second rounds would be eliminated. Teams have never been allowed to trade picks, and baseball is slow to change. There are strong opinions on both sides of that issue.

 

I guess we'll see, been hearing rumblings about this move for a while...