One discussion that is bound to come up during negotiations between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is the amateur draft, or more properly, the rule 4 draft. Now, the current CBA only mentions this draft in regards to free agency, so I’m not sure why MLB can’t change the rules of the draft without union consent. It seems that once the union got involved, any rule changes at any level of the game seem to require union approval, despite the fact that no union members, only potential future members, are associated with the draft.

There has been talk for a number of years about instituting hard slotting in the draft. That is, the bounus paid to a drafted player is set in stone by some authority, and the drafted player can take or leave the figure. Currently, drafted players may negotiate a bonus. The problem, from the owners point of view is that poor clubs get the early draft picks, and often those clubs are financially stretched due to their poor performance. A great prospect will demand a high bonus, so teams often skip better players because they feel they can’t afford the price. Since the point of the draft is to improve last place clubs, high bonus demands hurt some clubs in their quest to improve.

So hard slotting would be like walking into an old Saturn dealership, one price, no negotiating. On the player’s side, this takes away the one chance the youth has to set his salary until when and if he reaches arbitration. Needless to say, the union is likely not to thrilled with the idea. For the teams, it makes like easier. They don’t need to talk money with a player who is just potential. There hands will be tied.

The history of major league acquisition of is one of putting more and more restrictions on the amateurs, all in the name of competitive balance (which is code for hurting the Yankees). Hard slotting fits right into this. The current problem, I suggest, are due to a lack of options teams have to realize the value of their draft choices. It’s very possible that the needs of a team and draft class don’t mesh. Maybe the team really needs a major league ready player. In that case, the team could trade the pick. Maybe the team really needs cash. In that case, they could sell the pick, and use the money to hire a free agent. Instead, the baseball draft puts teams into a one size fits all situation. Their only option is to draft a player and sign or lose him.

In general, flexibility is good. General managers are smart these days, and the ability to trade and sell draft picks gives them another tool to better their teams. It would also give teams that perform poorly on the field a way to improve quicker, by bringing in good talent instead of waiting a few years for the drafted talent to develop. Teams would be able to decide which strategy is best for them, rather than being herded in one direction.

So if hard slotting comes up in the negotiations, I hope the union points out there are other ways of improving the draft besides sticking it to the players.