Trading of Free Agents

[Greenville Drive]

Daytona has brought up topic about trading of pending free agents. By that he means the ability to trade a guy that had a 2020 or y2y.6 contract last year. There has been a little back and forth on the topic and I wanted to give it its own forum for anyone to weigh in on this. So here it is.

[Greenville Drive]

From what I gathered there is a topic within the topic. First is the question to allow it or not. And the 2nd is the question of whether it is only y2y.6 guys or both.

The y2y.6 guys are the basis for Daytona's debate. As the holder of Franchise rights, it allows an owner to keep a player for 3 more years. He thinks another owner should have this same right, even though the rights holder may already have a franchise player and the fact that franchise players can't be traded. If I have misunderstood up to this point, please offer clarification.

[Deleted]

I think there are several topics within the topic and that can sometimes cloud the debate somewhat. I posted a simple yes or no poll limited to y2y6 guys.

There seems to be some confusion or hangup on terminology that gets in the way here. Franchise players can't be traded, but a player isn't a franchise player until the franchise option is exercised. The question is whether that option can be traded.

In my mind, a y2y6 guy whose contract expired after the 2020 season is very similar to a guy who has a 2020TO23 contract. The only difference is that once that option is exercised, the player can't be traded.

The proposal simply allows that option to be traded. It's a way of increasing competitive balance in the league in several ways. Let's use a real world example:

In another league similar to this one, I had Jake DeGrom as a y2y6 guy expiring in 2020. If I already have a franchise player, my only choice is to simply throw JDG back into the free agent pool. He'll go for $12-15M, I'll get a likely first round comp pick and someone will have used a good chunk of their budget to get him.

If, instead, I trade JDG to another owner who has no franchise player, that owner gets a stud pitcher for three years at $8M and if he's smart, he didn't give up much more than a first round pick to get him as he has me over a barrel. That makes him more competitive, not to mention he now has an extra $4-7M available in free agency, making that a more competitive process as well. I simply don't see the downside.

[Ohio Spiders]

I disagree with this. I know some are in favor of this. I am not. 2020 or y2y6 is an expired contract and no longer on your team. I see no difference in a y2y6 or 2020 contract that ends after the 2020 season. It can be played as competitive balance tool for the league but likely you're going to get a better return in trade than the comp pick if you choose not to match.

Since the rules say you can franchise any player not just y2y6 then the discussion is can you trade player rights? If yes, can you only trade them to a team who doesn't have a franchise available? If that answer is no, then you're trading rights to comp picks or matching rights. I just don't see the benefit in this. We already have ways to get value out of these players and adding more complication to expired contracts seems unnecessary to me.

My .02.

[Motor City Kitties]

I also disagree with this. On any player with an expiring deal (meaning in his walk year), you know that you have to make a decision. Options you have 1) extend/decline option if possible 2) franchise a guy 3) trade him to recoup some value 4) let him walk and take your chances with a comp pick. As an owner you need to take all this into consideration when making deals regarding trades/contracts/releases.

Regarding trades: I have been in negotiations with owners where I basically said if you think you can get this guy cheaper as an FA, then good luck, otherwise you'll need to meet my price. I also have made deals where I gave up a a lot because I knew I was gonna get to keep a guy at a low salary for a few seasons. That's all just part of the game.