Following various reports earlier in the evening regarding a new CBA, Major League Baseball has issued the following release…
Major League Baseball (MLB) announced tonight that it has reached a tentative five-year labor agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) through the 2021 season, subject to ratification by both parties.
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The parties continue to draft the entirety of the tentative agreement. Specific terms of the pact will be made available when the drafting process is complete.
Among the changes to the new CBA, signing a qualified free agent will no longer be the loss of a 1st round pick but rather a third round pick for teams below the luxury tax or a 2nd and 5th round pick for those teams above it. Teams that qualify a player who instead chooses to sign with another team will still receive compensation, but that too will change…
Team that loses QO free agent will get pick only if player signs contract of $50M+. Pick it gets will depend upon that team’s market size.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2016
In a related note, the luxury or threshold tax will reportedly go up each of the next five years–which allow teams to spend more without penalty.
Source: Luxury-tax thresholds could rise in something close to this progression over new five-year CBA: $195M, $197M, $206M, $209M, $210M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2016
Important to note, these changes will not take affect until next offseason. Qualified free agents this year will be signed under the previous rules which result in the new team giving up their 1st round draft pick.
Besides money, there will also be more rest and service time built into future schedules…
The #MLB season will start five days earlier beginning in 2018,providing 5 more off-days per year,giving players 5 more days of service time
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 1, 2016
More details will continue to emerge as both the owners and players will need to ratify the CBA for it to become official.
