Slot

[Theoldmole]

]Their first three selections -- first baseman Ike Davis, shortstop Reese Havens and right-handed pitcher Bradley Holt -- are playing with the Brooklyn Cyclones of the Class A New York-Penn League. Davis and Havens signed for less than slot -- $1,575,000 and $1,419,000, respectively -- and Holt signed for slot, $1.4 million.

What is slot?

[nymr83]

the reccomended amount by mlb based on draft position

[MFS62]

They try to pay a draftee less than the player drafted ahead of him, and more than the player drafted after him. I'm not sure if it is written, unwritten, or even legal.
IIRC, the Mets caught a lot of flak from MLB in the past by paying one of their high draftees "over slot". So they played nice with the other kids (GMs) by paying in or below slot this year.

Later

[bmfc1]

The Nationals wouldn't go beyond their "slot" so they just lost their first round pick. That's a shame.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/16/AR2008081600230.html

[smg58]

It sounds like the agent's goal all along was to get his client drafted by a different team next year. Drafting is such an inexact science, though, I'd have probably budged even less than the Nationals did.

[Frayed Knot]

The Nationals actually did make an offer above "slot" -- it just wasn't as much as the draftee wanted.

The fact that these slot limits are voluntary (even if strongly suggested) is probably what makes them legal. Or at least they're legal until someone decides to challenge them but, even then, these draft picks don't yet have the backing of the MLBPA and proving damage from an unenforecable guideline is going to be kind of tough.

Plus, despite all these "suggestions", the bonus money went up this year and did so by a larger pct than in recent years and despite the August 15th deadline which was put in recently in an attempt to put more pressure on the picks and their agents (previously negotiations could go on for a full year until just before the next draft).

The only other 1st rounder not to sign this year was the Yanx' pick at #28. Gerritt Cole was a HS kid who was described as having 'top of the draft stuff' but fell through the entire round due to perceived high demands as well as the thought that he might go to college instead. Virtually all observers expected that flashing the NYY wallet would "talk" him out of any college aspirations but in the end he fooled them all and will go to UCLA and not go back into the draft for 3 years.

In both cases (Wash & NYY) failing to sign a high pick means that they'll get an extra pick right after the same slot next year.
IOW, the Nats failed to sign pick #9 this year and therefore will get pick "9A" next year - the pick right after 9 but before 10 - in addition to whatever other pick this wonderful season "earns" them (quite possibly #1) and the Yanx will get pick #"28A" on top of their regular pick (effectively making the 1st round 2 picks longer).

[Guest AG/DC]

Is it correct that the public has no way of knowing what slot is until the draftees start sigining and a pattern emerges?

[nymr83]

]IOW, the Nats failed to sign pick #9 this year and therefore will get pick "9A" next year - the pick right after 9 but before 10 - in addition to whatever other pick this wonderful season "earns" them (quite possibly #1) and the Yanx will get pick #"28A" on top of their regular pick (effectively making the 1st round 2 picks longer).

i don't like that rule. if anything i'd give the team a pick like 2 rounds later...so if your first roundr doesnt sign you get a sandwich pick between the 3rd and 4th rounds, etc. otherwise a team with a the #3 pick ina "weak" year might decide they are best off not signing the guy and getting the 4th pick the next year.

[Guest AG/DC]

It gives the teams more leverage and the players less. Stinky.

I'm just waiting for the one agent and the one player with the heart to bring the whole sham crumbling down. But a guy like J.D. Drew doesn't like the limited options the draft, by design, allows him. He expresses his independence by playing indy ball instead, and he gets vilified.

[Frayed Knot]

]i don't like that rule. if anything i'd give the team a pick like 2 rounds later...so if your first roundr doesnt sign you get a sandwich pick between the 3rd and 4th rounds, etc. otherwise a team with a the #3 pick ina "weak" year might decide they are best off not signing the guy and getting the 4th pick the next year.

Possible, I suppose, but that kind of stuff is virtually impossible to predict a year in advance.
The whole purpose of both the better compensation and the earlier deadline date is, like DC said, to put more pressure on the players/agents as well as to give the team an extra incentive to walk away from high demands.

]I'm just waiting for the one agent and the one player with the heart to bring the whole sham crumbling down

The NFL's MUCH more restrictive and structured draft system has stood up several times in courts, including fairly recently. So unless this is going to be (another) case of the NFL getting away with things that other businesses and sports can't, I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for that one.