Rookie Wage Scale Increase

[Atlanta Braves GM(T.J.)]

Currently the Rookie Wage scale is $1, $1.75, $2.50 & $4.00 and those players are highlighted in blue.

Rockies and I got together and we propose an RW increase to $1, $2.50, $5, and $10. The increase would go in to affect for all players who meet their thresholds for the 2015 season. Also, to close a loophole, if a team wanted to now put an MiLB player on their 35 man MLB roster they would also be affected by the new pay scale. Players affected by the new pay scale would be designated by a new color (to be determined).

Example:

If I wanted to start Michael Choice's contract early and put him on my MLB roster to open up a spot on my MiLB roster he would be subject to the new pay scale.

[Deleted]

Are we keeping the buyout thing the same? After the third year you can resign the guy at the average of the top 5 players. And then also being able to release a guy without having a cap hit through 3 years?

[Atlanta Braves GM(T.J.)]

Yes, buyout stays the same. In fact the cause and affect of the increase is believed to lower salaries for free agents. Thus making the buyout more applicable.

[Cardinals GM(Jared)]

I say we make it sooner.

1 dollar guys this year will be 2.5 next. 1.75 will be 5.

Makes this help quicker.

[Deleted]

I voted yes, and it really doesn't matter to me - but just by doing a quick look at the spreadsheet, here are some observations:

If a catcher would move into his final year of his rookie contract right now, that would make him the 6th highest paid catcher. Similar results for a RP - would be 10th. And that would just be for accruing years you become the 10th highest paid at your position?

I get that this will change and make it more balanced as time goes on, but I know personally, I don't want to drop a young reliever who is solid, say a Tanner Scheppers (assuming when he moves back to the pen he reverts to last season's form), however, I don't think he is probably anywhere close to being worth $10. So then I have to drop him?

That just doesn't seem right to me...Can we do something about Catchers and RP? I know it would make it a bit more complicated, but I don't want to be losing any young reliever who isn't great just because he becomes to expensive on his rookie contract.

[Cardinals GM(Jared)]

Maybe if you cut him you can still participate in the auction?

Maybe you get rfa on that player? Maybe something bigger than 10 percent?

10 highest paid catcher can't be that much though if you kept him that log.

[Deleted]

Maybe you could cut him, but still have rfa?

And I'm not saying it's the end of the world. Just something that I thought should be brought up.

[New York Yankees GM(Tommy)]

I still say we should get into an NBA salary cap type situation where you can only really keep 2-3 big time stars. You can have unlimited contracts.

My big problem with this increase and most of the other things we have suggested is that rookies, especially starters, take some time to mature. So if you go out and spend a high draft pick on say Mark Appel but he doesn't become an ace until his 5th season which is the norm, you kind of wasted a draft pick. Why not just wait and outbid everyone. There should be some sort of very long term contracts we can offer like Matt Moore got from the Rays and is becoming the norm in baseball.

Just my 2 cents but I'll roll with whatever you guys go with here.

[Cincinnati Reds (Mike)]

I kind of like/understand what Yankees and Phillies are saying. If you're paying $10 to keep a young guy in his 4th year, that kind of suggests he's a Top 100-125 type player, which few prospects end up becoming. This would be super-complicated, but some sort of "arbitration process" would be interesting and a way to kind of deal with this -- say everybody is at the fixed $1/$2.5 the first two years, and then contracts could increase to one of 3 different levels based on Player Rater ranking (say $3/$4/$5 and $6/$8/$10.) Makes guys like Scheppers and hypothetical Mark Appel more keepable if they are slower to develop. Obviously tough to figure out though, where do you draw the line, plus Player Rater doesn't incorporate OPS/Holds...

That rambling tangent aside, I pretty much agree with the proposed contract. I would be in favor of a slightly lesser increase (1/2/4/8?) but think this is reasonable. Also agree with Cards, if we're going to do this, I think it should affect all current players -- if someone's in their 2nd year making $1.75, they should climb to $5 instead of $2.5 next year. Otherwise we're going to end up with Yasiel Puig in his 4th season being cheaper than George Springer in his 3rd.

[Deleted]

As a selfish item - I would really not like starting it for the guys currently in the system - I've got like 5ish guys who are at the 2.5 mark right now, which would put each of them at 10 next year, and there might be 2 of them that are actually worth 10, but it would really put me in a salary cap bind that I was not planning for and I think it would be a tad unfair to impose it on those guys who are already in the system because I've planned my cap around those guys making 4.0 next year, not 10.0

[Cardinals GM(Jared)]

this is turning into obamacare lol

[New York Mets GM(Randy)]

I am fine with the increase and whatever the consequences are from that. But I do agree with Phils that it should happen to next year's crop of rookies and not those currently up since teams have been structured based on our current understanding of the salary cap. With that said, Braves, did you see I wanted to move Billy to my MLB roster last week?

[Atlanta Braves GM(T.J.)]

As my initial post stated. This would go into affect for the 2015 season.

[Cincinnati Reds (Mike)]

Fair enough. I can understand that people made roster plans and it's tough to ask them to completely change everything due to a rule change. I guess I just suck for stocking up on a bunch of guys who are likely to start their MLB contracts next year.

[Cardinals GM(Jared)]

Don't worry. They won't all make it to year 5