Free Agent Draft Compensation

Patrick Ebert

At the end of the 2010 regular season I provided a story that included a breakdown of the raw draft order with the completion of the 2010 campaign. That order has already changed with the beginning of free agency, and the spending season has only just begun.

To view that story and re-familiarize yourself with the raw draft order for the 2011 draft, please visit this link:

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5034

Now that players have already gone through the process of being offered, and either accepting or declining arbitration, we now know the maximum number of players that could affect the final draft order. A handful of players have already signed with new teams, and we likely will see quite a few more sign over the course of the next week as the Winter Meetings approach.

This could be the last year baseball has to deal with this system, as the draft process, from hard slotting to either a drastic overhaul or complete elimination of the free agent compensation process, is long overdue for some significant changes.

Below is a list of the eligible free agents and their respective Elias Sports Bureau ranking. The rankings are used as tie-breakers in the event a team signs more than one free agent (the team losing the ‘better’ free agent is awarded the signing team’s better pick).

Type A Free Agents:

1. Jayson Werth (Phillies) -- 91.807
2. Rafael Soriano (Rays) -- 91.799
3. Cliff Lee (Rangers) -- 87.500
4. Victor Martinez (Red Sox) -- 87.054
5. Carl Crawford (Rays) -- 85.128
6. Adrian Beltre (Red Sox) -- 81.633
7. Paul Konerko (White Sox) -- 78.095
8. Scott Downs (Blue Jays) -- 76.352
9. Carl Pavano (Twins) -- 75.568
10. Adam Dunn (Nationals) -- 74.167
11. Grant Balfour (Rays) -- 72.923

Type B Free Agents:

1. Javier Vazquez (Yankees) -- 71.970
2. Jon Garland (Padres) -- 71.947
3. Brad Hawpe (Rays) -- 70.769
4. Orlando Hudson (Twins) -- 70.238
5. Felipe Lopez (Red Sox) – 67.532
6. John Buck (Blue Jays) -- 67.411
7. Kevin Gregg (Blue Jays) -- 66.967
8. Joaquin Benoit (Rays) -- 66.879
9. Pedro Feliciano (Mets) -- 66.855
10. Octavio Dotel (Rockies) -- 66.473
11. Juan Uribe (Giants) -- 65.608
12. Miguel Olivo (Blue Jays) -- 65.251
13. Yorvit Torrealba (Padres) -- 63.900
14. Trevor Hoffman (Brewers) -- 62.829
15. Randy Choate (Rays) -- 62.460
16. J.J. Putz (White Sox) -- 62.213
17. Adam LaRoche (Diamondbacks) -- 61.667
18. Jesse Crain (Twins) -- 60.657
19. Aaron Heilman (Diamondbacks) -- 58.420
20. Kevin Correia (Padres) -- 57.591
21. Chad Qualls (Rays) -- 56.168

That’s 32 players, which is essentially another round of the draft added in between the first and second rounds, should all of the remaining free agents sign with new teams.

Keep in mind that no team that finished among the 15 worse in all of baseball during the 2010 season can lose their own first-round pick by signing any free agent.

And here is how the supplement first round would break down should all of the remaining free agents sign with other teams.

34. Nationals (Dunn)
35. Blue Jays (Downs)
36. White Sox (Konerko)
37. Red Sox (Martinez)
38. Rangers (Lee)
39. Twins (Pavano)
40. Rays (Soriano)
41. Phillies (Werth)
42. Red Sox (Beltre)
43. Rays (Crawford)
44. Rays (Balfour)
45. D-Backs (LaRoche)
46. Brewers (Hoffman)
47. Mets (Feliciano)
48. Rockies (Dotel)
49. Blue Jays (Gregg)
50. White Sox (Putz)
51. Red Sox (Lopez)
52. Padres (Garland)
53. Giants (Uribe)
54. Twins (Hudson)
55. Yankees (Vazquez)
56. Rays (Hawpe)
57. D-Backs (Heilman)
58. Blue Jays (Buck)
59. Padres (Torrealba)
60. Twins (Crain)
61. Rays (Benoit)
62. Blue Jays (Olivo)
63. Padres (Correia)
64. Rays (Choate)
65. Rays (Qualls)

Compensation picks are awarded for all type A free agents first, with the worst team losing such a player getting the highest pick, following in order, one-by-one, all of the other teams. Teams with multiple free agents will receive another pick, again in order once all of the other teams have been awarded a compensatory selection. The same process is then used for type B free agents.

There are already three compensatory picks in the first round for unsigned first-round picks from the 2010 draft, dropping the first pick of the sandwich round to 34. There will also be a selection awarded in the supplemental third round to the Mariners for not signing 2010 third-rounder Ryne Stanek.

Here is a list of free agents that have already signed with other teams:

• Victor Martinez, Tigers (Red Sox receive the Tigers’ first-round pick, #19 overall, and a sandwich pick)
• John Buck, Rangers (Blue Jays receive a sandwich pick)
• Joaquin Benoit, Tigers (Rays receive a sandwich pick)
• Jon Garland, Dodgers (Padres receive a sandwich pick)
• Juan Uribe, Dodgers (Giants receive a sandwich pick)
• Javier Vazquez, Marlins (Yankees receive a sandwich pick)
• Yorvit Torrealba, Rangers (Padres receive a sandwich pick)

As you can see, the Tampa Bay Rays have the most to lose in free agency, but the most to gain in the draft. Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano are two of the most coveted free agents this offseason, and could garner the Rays four additional first-rounders. In total, depending on where their free agents sign, they could receive three additional first-round picks from other teams and seven supplemental first-rounders. They’re going to need a good chunk of the money they are looking to shed this offseason to sign all of those picks.

With four free agents and five potential additional first-round picks, the Blue Jays look as though they will put their mammoth scouting corps to good use for the second consecutive year.

The Padres also appear to be loaded with additional picks with as many as three sandwich rounders coming their way. In addition, not listed above is the compensatory selection for unsigned 2010 first-rounder Karsten Whitson, which will be the 10th overall pick.

Arizona also has a premium pick coming to them for their unsigned 2010 first-round pick (Barret Loux) to go along with two potential supplemental first-rounders.

With two type A free agents and one type B, the Red Sox have the potential to gain five additional first-rounders to their usual aggressive draft efforts.

American League Central rivals the Twins (four) and White Sox (three) both look to add quite a few picks to their draft efforts next June.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA. Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and 5 Tool Talk, and can be contacted via email at pebert@5tooltalk.com.

PERFECTGAME.TV

Give us your feedback

MLB Draft: Create-A-Prospect
Think of this article like the “create-a-player” feature in MLB The Show and read up on some of this class’s standout players who have carrying traits to really like in a fun article from the Draft team this week.

Top MLB Draft Tools Breakdown
With the 2024 MLB Draft seemingly around the corner, lets break down some categories and dive in on the top 5 in each from both the prep ranks and the college side of things.

PG Top 400 Draft Board Breakdown
With a recent update to our Top 400 Draft Board, the PG Draft Team took a deeper dive into some of the biggest risers as well as some names making their debut.

2024 Mock Draft: April 11
We're still so far away from the July date of the 2024 MLB Draft that anything can, and likely will, happen moving forward but here's how the draft team sees things falling into place if the draft were to happen now.

PERFECTGAME.TV