The new five-year deal between MLB and the players changes little while allowing the Washington Nationals to stay aggressive.
The Washington Nationals are winners in the new collective bargaining agreement.
After some manufactured acrimony, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed to a new five-year CBA on Wednesday night, ensuring 26 years of labor peace and baseball through 2021.
In a mild surprise, not much changed from the old deal. Roster’s remain at 25 players and 40 for September. There will be no international draft and the qualifying offer remains in place. On most days, it will remain business as usual.
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What tweaks and changes that came out of the process helps the Nationals in the long run.
Starting with the next offseason, signing a player who turned down a qualifying offer will not give up a draft pick unless the contract exceeds $50 million total. If a large deal is signed, Washington will lose a third-round pick instead of a first. Grabbing a free agent now will not deplete the future farm system.
With the luxury tax now increasing annually, the Nationals should never top it and face the higher draft penalty of losing a second- and fifth-rounder. Outside the big market payrolls by a few million, the Nationals can remain aggressive without fear.
Until they resolve their differences with the Baltimore Orioles over the rights fees from MASN, they cannot reach the new tax. Under the new deal, the soft cap is $195 million for 2017. Washington’s cash outlay this year was $167 million.
In a win for the players, only one qualifying offer may happen period. Once used, they cannot use it again.
Under the new contract, the All-Star Game no longer decides World Series home field. Instead, the team with the better record hosts Game 1 and 7. The disabled list drops from 15 games to 10, making decisions easier when to call up a new player.
The 2018 schedule, and future years, see four days added to reduce fatigue. This helps the quality of baseball going forward, but increases the number of cold weather dates. Hot cocoa and Anthony Rendon for everyone.
Drug and abuse policies get tightened and smokeless tobacco banned for new players. Current folks are grandfathered in. Also, there will be a hard cap on international signings.
Although keeping the full 40-man rosters for September is disappointing—who loves endless pitching changes—the overall package benefits mid-market teams like the Nationals. They can be aggressive in free agency without serious consequence while bigger teams need to keep an eye on spending.
Any potential World Series calendar now is on them. Get the best surviving record, host the biggest games. The playoff structure remains the same and the rewards for winning the division is still the big prize.
There will be details that trickle out as everything written into the final agreement, but with nothing drastic in this deal, Washington can thrive and contend for years.