How new CBA affects Phillies
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How new CBA affects Phillies
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Details are slowly emerging about baseball's new collective bargaining agreement, which will be formally announced Tuesday according to various sources. The sport has already confirmed a major change with Houston moving to the American League West in 2013 to create two 15-team leagues. That means year-round interleague play, but the number of games is unknown and rumored to be anywhere between 18 and 30.
The Associated Press reports of two details in the new CBA that will especially be pertinent to the Phillies:
1. The minimum salary will increase from $414,000 to $480,000. This is a minor development. But the Phillies will likely have at least five pre-arbitration players (John Mayberry Jr., Vance Worley, Antonio Bastardo, Mike Stutes, David Herndon, etc.) on their roster. They all just received higher raises than expected.
2. The current luxury tax threshold of $178 million will not increase in 2012 as it had in the previous CBA. The average yearly increase was $8 million in the old agreement.
Does that mean the Phillies' payroll ceiling is $178 million? Probably not. Team officials, including president David Montgomery, declared a willingness during last season to do what was needed — even if it meant going over the tax limit.
And while the luxury tax is this mythological status to avoid at all costs, it's really not debilitating. Teams who exceed it for the first time (and we are 99 percent certain the Phillies did not exceed the limit in 2011, but it's possible) must pay a tax of 22.5 percent on the amount they are over.
So let's say the Phillies' payroll is $180 million in 2012. They would be taxed on the $2 million and have to pay $450,000, or the equivalent of almost one minimum salary, to Major League Baseball. Again, if that's separating the Phillies from a deadline acquisition, it's not a huge impediment.
It's also possible that the actual tax is less under the new CBA in return for maintaining the same threshold.
The guess here is in 2012, the Phillies become the first National League team to ever pay luxury tax.
3. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that draft-pick compensation for free agents will change dramatically, but the final details are still a mystery. MLB will abolish the Elias rankings system that determines Type A and Type B free agents beginning (sort of) with this winter. Only the top free agents — and Rosenthal defines them as Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins and David Ortiz — will be tied to compensation.
The eight remaining relievers who are Type A free agents — including Ryan Madson — will no longer hold that status. Instead, a team that signs them will not surrender their first-round draft pick. However, the team that loses said reliever will receive some sort of compensation pick that is probably not in the first round.
But the Phillies will not be granted those rules because they have already signed Jonathan Papelbon. Rosenthal reports the Phillies, like in the old system, must surrender their 31st pick in the first round to Boston as compensation.
Granted, if Rollins signs elsewhere, the Phillies could recoup that first rounder. For losing Madson, they will likely be awarded a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds. In the past, he would have netted them a first rounder.
Obviously there are more details to come plus plenty of words to be written about the implementation of HGH blood testing. But there is labor peace in baseball for five more years, and that is something to celebrate.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
so the Phils gave up an extra $6 million and a 1st round pick to sign Papelbon instead of Madson despite the fact that Madson was clearly the superior pitcher last year and likely to be the better pitcher over the next 4 years as well as a better fit for the Phils ballpark --another dumb move by the Rube who looks at past performance and the bigger name instead of doing any real analysis— warbiscuit- Warbiscuit, you're a dope. You are the one who is doing no analysis. There isn't a team in the league that would take Madson over Papelbon all things being equal. Papelbon is a proven closer over many years; Madson is not. I'm glad YOU'RE not the Phillies GM.— Vituperator
- I think it is a gamble either way. Paps has done it over many years but he gets by on total velocity. Can he sustain that for 4 more years. Maybe, maybe not. Madson has more pitches but I am still not 100% sold on him being a closer long term. I am 90% sure that he can handle the position. The wild cards were Madson's wife and Boras. I really don't think she wants to be here and everyone knows that Amaro is not a huge Boras fan.— MDefl
- Amaro has made the right moves for this time. In the end, they have to hit. Plain and simple. I do question retaining Greg Gross. They fired Thompson and nothing really changed with Gross. I do think the Phils need to work on their conditioning. How many guys can get sports hernia's on 1 team? Maybe it is a coincidence. I am not a Doctor.— MDefl
- yes vituperotor lets see your posts after season and in 2015 -- 2012 Madson over/under blown saves 2; Papelbon over/under blown saves 6; 2015 Madson over/under saves 42; 2015 Papelbon over-under saves 4 (no longer closer) ... fools like you and Amaro think you can plug in past 5 years stats and project to future ..that's what leads to giving idiotic franchise-destroying contracts to Howard, Ibanez, Polanco, etc as well as Arod, Jeter, etc while intelligent g.m.s in StL and SF win championships with pieces like Berkman and Ross --Amaro has never won a championship and given his clear lack of understanding about how to build a well-balanced team and how to properly spend $170 million+ likely never will— warbiscuit
- "yes vituperotor lets see your posts after season and in 2015 -- 2012 Madson over/under blown saves 2; Papelbon over/under blown saves 6; 2015 Madson over/under saves 42; 2015 Papelbon over-under saves 4 (no longer closer) ...
fools like you and Amaro think you can plug in past 5 years stats and project to future"
It would appear you are doing the same thing that you are accusing Vituperator of doing.
Fool indeed.— PhightinPhil - Staying out of this one.....and in one corner VItuperator and in the utha corner WAR-bisKIT!.....and all the rest of us 'dope'-'fiends' just stand by..Round 1. DING!— 24sDad
- Staying out of this one.....and in one corner VItuperator and in the utha corner WAR-bisKIT!.....and all the rest of us 'dope'-'fiends' just stand by..Round 1. DING!— 24sDad
Comment removed.- Come on now 'bisquit, let's see you crack a little smile...just a teeny weeny litte one...just one time...pretty please...we know you have it in you...don't you?— Clee Liff
- Madson won't pitch 3 days in a row, who needs a diva? And they are the same age, not like Madson is younger, why the projected decline for Papelbon and not Madson, warbiscuit? Madson has 200 more innings on his arm as well. Papelbon faced way better competition.— craigmack
- Also, from what I have read, it is not 2 sets of rules, in the recalculation of free agent comp, Madson no longer type "A" but Papelbon would have been, so the timing is irrelevant.— craigmack
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It's hilarious enough when the haters post their venom in response to actual news...but beyond the pale when they do it based on speculative rumors...it's like one humongous neurotic game of whispering down the lane..
— Clee Liff - The draft pick is relevant, but not a huge deal. They lose the 31st pick, but they'll pick up a sandwich pick on Madson. So they slide down...a handful of picks, 10 at the most, when baseball drafts are the hardest to project after the top handful (which even those are crapshoots). Sure, I'd rather have the higher pick, but don't think it's a huge loss.— dawk2020
- Irregardless....Justion DeFratus and Phillippe Aumant will be the two fighting to close in 2013 and/or beyond....Paps could be trade bait...unless Ruben trades DeFratus or Aumant as he has a penchant for trading the youngsters.— Romus
