Sat Mar 30, 2024 8:51 pm
I have a couple of rule changes to propose:
1) Change the definition of prospect to EXCLUDE players coming over to MLB from the Japan and Korean baseball leagues. These players (Ohtani, Senga, Yamamoto, Kim) are not prospects in the traditional sense of the term. I believe they should be free agents after their first SOM card is issued. MLB certainly does not treat them as prospects. I think the bidding on such players as free agents would be far more interesting than treating them as prospects.
2) The arbitration process has become far too boring. I'd like to see players being taken to arbitration be assigned the higher of their SOM card value or the minimum contract price depending on Arb1, 2 or 3. Perhaps there could be a "settlement" amount based on, for example, 50% of the required contract offers to Arb1 and Arb2 players, and the same 50% of the required contract offers to Arb3 players (percentage may need to be tweeked, 50% used only for example purposes). So your options for an Arb1 guy would be: take to arbitration with his salary being the higher of $2,000,000 or SOM card price, sign to a long-term extension, cut, or settle at 50% (per my example, not set in stone) of the required contract for an Arb1 guy.
Just some thoughts
Al