The Qualifying Offer/Free Agency Process

[DanoooME]

Can this get pinned to the top?
 
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the entire qualifying offer/free agency process when it comes to draft picks.  This thread will try to summarize how the process works today.
 
 
1. After the World Series, players who have 6 years of service time and are not under contract become free agents.
 
2. 5 days after the World Series, at 4 PM CT, is the team's deadline for making a Qualifying Offer (QO) to free agents.  The QO is the average of the top 125 salaries in MLB from the previous season.  The only exception is that any player traded during that previous season is not eligible to receive a QO.
 
3. The players receiving QOs have 7 days to decide whether to accept the QO or decline it.  If the player accepts the QO, they are signed to that team for the QO amount.
 
4. If a player declines the QO and signs a Major League contract with another team, the team that lost the player will get a supplemental draft pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds of the Rule 4 (amateur) draft.  These are awarded in reverse order of the previous year's standings.  The team that signed the player just loses their highest available draft pick; that pick DOES NOT go to the team losing the player.  This includes supplemental picks received as part of losing FAs.
 
A hypothetical example, if the Red Sox lose Jacoby Ellsbury, they receive a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds.  If they subsequently sign Shin-Soo Choo and Kendrys Morales (both offered QOs), they would lose their own first round pick and their supplemental pick they received for losing Ellsbury, NOT their 2nd round pick.
 
 
If I missed anything, let me know and I will adjust the post.

 

[Otis Foster]

Thnx DanoooME. This clarifies a confusing process.
 
What bears additional attention is that supplemental picks get awarded to teams in reverse order of the prior year's standing. So, we may need to temper the enthusiasm for collecting supplemental picks with the knowledge that every other team finishing behind us has first picked through the draftees and siphoned off significant talent.
 
So, the RS can't console themselves for losing Ells by taking the NYY first round pick. While that vaporizes, moving everyone up a slot, the compensatory supplemental pick for Ells  goes to the back of the supplemental line.
 
Does anyone have a summary of all 2013 QO's and which ones (if any) were accepted?

 

[amfox1]

Giving effect to Ellsbury signing:
 
Current 2014 MLB Draft Order (June 5-7, 2014)
 
1st Round (Protected)
1. HOU
2. MIA
3. CWS
4. CHC
5. MIN
6. SEA
7. PHI
8. COL
9. TOR
10. NYM
11. TOR (Phil Bickford compensation pick)
 
1st Round (Unprotected)
12. MIL
13. SD
14. SF
15. LAA
16. ARI
17. BAL
(MFY lost draft pick - McCann)
18. KC
19. WAS
20. CIN
21. TEX
22. TB
23. CLE
24. LAD
25. DET
26. PIT
27. OAK
28. ATL
29. BOS
30. STL
 
Supplemental Round (picks for unsigned players with QO designations will slot in here, subject to #36 pick being fixed in place)
(SEA would slot here - Morales)*
(MFY would slot here - 2nd to sign of Cano/Granderson/Kuroda)
(KC would slot here - Santana)
(CIN would slot here - Choo)
(TEX would slot here - Cruz)
(CLE would slot here - Jimenez)
31. ATL (McCann)
32. BOS (Ellsbury)
(BOS would slot here - 1st to sign of Napoli/Drew)

(BOS would slot here - 2nd to sign of Napoli/Drew)
(STL would slot here - Beltran)

 
Competitive Balance Lottery Round A
33. COL
34. BAL
35. CLE
36. MIA (Matt Krook compensation pick, not subject to forfeiture)
37. MIA
38. KC
39. MIL
 
2nd Round (picks 39-67, MFY lost draft pick - Ellsbury)
66. BOS
 
Competitive Balance Lottery Round B (after Round 2)
68. SD
69. ARI
70. STL
71. TB
72. PIT
73. SEA
 
3rd Round (picks 74-103)
102. BOS
 
Compensation Pick (after Round 3)
104.  MIA (Ben DiLuzio compensation pick)
 
Unsigned Players With QO Designations (11, in draft order):
Morales (SEA)
Cano (MFY)
Granderson (MFY)
Kuroda (MFY)
Santana (KC)
Choo (CIN)
Cruz (TEX)
Jimenez (CLE)
Drew (BOS)
Napoli (BOS)
Beltran (STL)
 
* At such time (if any) as MFY gains its first compensatory pick, it will be forfeited and MFY's second round pick will be reinstated.

 

[Steve Dillard]

Amfox, I believe that the comp picks do not go in rounds, but are consecutive.  Therefore, the Yanks picks for Cano/Granderson/Kuroda (minus the forfeited pick) all would be before the Sox's picks, and the St.Louis Beltran pick will be behind all of ours.
 
http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/red-sox/content/20131204-updating-the-2014-mlb-draft-order.ece
 

If a team is due more than one compensatory pick, those picks are slotted in succession 

 

[Devizier]

The Red Sox get a better pick than the Cardinals? How is that? They had the same record, and beat the Cardinals in the World Series. Not that I mind.

 

[PrometheusWakefield]

So assuming Granderson signs with someone else do the Yankees lose the 2nd round pick for Ellsbury or do they lose the Granderson compensatory pick?

 

[DanoooME]

So assuming Granderson signs with someone else do the Yankees lose the 2nd round pick for Ellsbury or do they lose the Granderson compensatory pick?

 
They lose the Granderson comp pick.  It's always the best available pick.
 
Edit: Thanks everyone for your contributions.

 

[SumnerH]

 
A hypothetical example, if the Red Sox lose Jacoby Ellsbury, they receive a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds.  If they subsequently sign Shin-Soo Choo and Kendrys Morales (both offered QOs), they would lose their own first round pick and their supplemental pick they received for losing Ellsbury, NOT their 2nd round pick.

 
Does this mean there's an ordering strategy to signing free agents, or do they wait until after FA season and look at things in aggregate?  
 
That is, If the Sox jump out early and sign Choo and Morales, do they lose their 2 best available picks (which are a 1st and 2nd rounder), and then if Ellsbury signs elsewhere after that they then get a compensatory supplemental, which they keep unless they subsequently sign another FA?
 
Or is the bean counting done at the end: wait until all signings are done, award all supplementals, and then take away the highest picks at that point?
 
(Your later replies indicate it's the latter scenario, I just want to make sure I have that straight).

 

[DanoooME]

 
Does this mean there's an ordering strategy to signing free agents, or do they wait until after FA season and look at things in aggregate?  
 
That is, If the Sox jump out early and sign Choo and Morales, do they lose their 2 best available picks (which are a 1st and 2nd rounder), and then if Ellsbury signs elsewhere after that they then get a compensatory supplemental, which they keep unless they subsequently sign another FA?
 
Or is the bean counting done at the end: wait until all signings are done, award all supplementals, and then take away the highest picks at that point?
 
(Your later replies indicate it's the latter scenario, I just want to make sure I have that straight).

 
You are correct, it's the latter.  It's all done at the end.

 

[amfox1]

I'm also pretty sure that the #11 pick is not protected. We saw a similar situation last year where the mets got pushed out to #11 by a comp pick for the Pirates.

 
TOR's #11 pick and MIA's #36 pick are protected.  The rule has been clarified.  Steve Dillard is correct about the comp. round.  It's been fixed.

 

[Reverend]

I would love to have Choo in left. It's hard to beat the OBP, and the naive part of me hopes he'll be underrated BECAUSE of his lack of huge HR numbers. I'm not as worried about the draft pick as I might be, since we're low in the first round as it is, and we look to pick up several supplementaries. We wouldn't really lose much standing; the loss of money would hurt, though. I actually think his defense might wind up an asset in Fenway's left; with that arm, he'll throw out a lot of guys looking to turn singles into doubles. He's got a pretty severe platoon split, but he maintains a respectable OBP and we've already got Gomes to spell him against tough lefties. 
 
Having said all that, I wouldn't be comfortable with him for much more than a Lackey-esque contract, and that's not happening with his agent. If the price falls into that region, I'd take him in a heart beat. But I doubt it. If we're getting into 6+ years and 100+ million, stay away. 

 
From another thread (I think this thread can be useful in this respect): Is the bolded an accurate expression of the stakes? It seems to me that losing a pick is losing a pick, or am I off base?

 

[Otis Foster]

Well
 

 
From another thread (I think this thread can be useful in this respect): Is the bolded an accurate expression of the stakes? It seems to me that losing a pick is losing a pick, or am I off base?

Well, what I think he's saying is that we do lose a draft pick but the spread from the lost first pick to the first supplemental pick is quite small due to the smaller number of QOs that outrank the RS. What he overlooks is that you have one less relatively high draft pick, and since this isn't exactly a science, you may wind up regretting the one that got away.

 

[Kid T]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/11/explaining-qualifying-offers.html
 
Qualifiying offers explained.  Compensatory picks are not protected.