MLB and players agree to new 5-year CBA

[alnorth]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/72...abor-agreement

As expected, MLB will go at least 21 years without a strike or a lockout. Some terms in the new deal were expected, other items in the new CBA were completely unexpected.

#1) Houston will move to the AL West in 2013. Everyone knew this was happening, so moving on.

#2) A second wild card will be added, both wild cards will play a 1-game playoff round. This was mostly known about already, but everyone had assumed this wasn't going to happen before 2013. MLB is now saying there's a good chance they will do it next season before the realignment, final decision this January.

#3) Instant replay will be expanded to review fair/foul down the line, and catch/trap calls. Current replay is used only to review home runs. This is subject to negotiation with the umpire's union.

#4) Some stupid crap about tobacco on the field that no one should care about.

#5) Other random things about players getting caught DWI, slight bump in minimum salary, and new helmets in 2013.

#6) MLB will be the first sport in the United States to test for HGH (50 game suspension). The players union thinks the science has progressed enough to start testing, but is reserving the right to challenge the science behind the tests if someone comes up positive.

#7) Teams will be allowed to have 26 active players for double headers, if the double-header is scheduled more than a day in advance

#8) The luxury tax threshold will remain at $178MM for 2012-13, and will go up to $189MM for 2014-16

#9) Free agent draft pick compensation will be completely revised. A team must now offer a player who is becoming a free agent a 1-year contract at the average of the top 125 salaries in baseball to be eligible for a pick (roughly $12.4MM). There will be no more statistical type A or type B rankings. So basically, you would only offer this and get a pick if turned down if you are about to lose a superstar. (signing team gives up their 1st-rounder unless it is a top-15 pick, in which case the 2nd-rounder) Also, slightly more players will qualify for super-two status.

Here's a weird unexpected change that may hurt KC

#10) We knew reform was coming to the draft, but not that it would be this severe. There will be a total draft budget for each team in the first 10 rounds. Teams going over by 0-5% will pay a 75% tax. Teams paying 5-10% over will pay a 100% tax and will lose their next 1st-round pick. Teams going more than 15% over could lose their next 2 first round picks. So basically, this is almost a hard cap because no one is probably ever going to go more than a few percent over budget.

#11) Luxury tax will be paid for international contracts exceeding $2.7MM

Now for some of the weird unexpected stuff from out of left field, most probably benefitting small markets for the most part.

#12) Beginning in 2017, teams from New York, Chicago, LA, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Oakland, Philly, SF, the Texas Rangers, Toronto, and Washington will be ineligible to receive revenue sharing. If any of those teams would have been eligible for revenue sharing, that share is instead refunded back to the teams who paid into revenue sharing. (Suck it, White Sox!)

#13) Here's potentially a big one. There will be a new competitive balance lottery to award extra draft picks to small-market teams. Those draft picks can be traded. No clue how you qualify for picks, how many picks, or how high in the draft. Perhaps KC will go from spending big money in the draft for kids who fall, to just outright getting extra picks every year? edit: 6 sandwich picks between the 1st and 2nd round, and 6 more between the 2nd and 3rd round. The smallest 10 markets and 10 revenues are eligible. Odds are based on last year's winning percentage.