From Cubs.com Where did you find this quote, because it's not right. Free agents can still sign with their previous team after the Thursday deadline. It's after the Thursday deadline that they lose exclusive negotiating rights. You're reading it wrong. It's saying that only the previous team can sign them before the deadline, not that the previous team can't sign them after the deadline. Really? I've read that second sentence, which appears to be cut off, several times, and it gives the appearance that the Cubs would not be able to negotiate with Dempster after Thursday. I swear I'm not hungover. It's written so that it's meaning is ambiguous (I'm sure not intentionally, but, still.) The "only" applies to which team, not when. That is, (before the deadline) the player can sign with only his previous team. After the deadline, the player can sign with any team. I can see why it could be read in a way that was not meant by the author. I think the word only is misplaced. It would have been more accurate to say, "Free agents can sign only with their previous team until then."