Last season I broached the subject of changing our Compensation Rules. There was a lengthy discussion, which you can find at the link:
http://www.profsl.com/smf/index.php?topic=244841.0In that discussion I attempted to explain how we can mirror the MLB's practice of extending Qualifying Offers and still have a compensation system for those teams who lose Type A free agents. I am raising the issue again because in MLB, Type A and Type B designations are gone. Now, when a player reaches free agency, the team that is going to lose him can offer a qualifying offer that is the average of the previous season's top 125 salaries. This year it is $17.2m for one year. Last year, when the QO was $15.8m, three players accepted qualifying offers: Colby Rasmus, Brett Anderson, and Matt Wieters.
This year, 8 players were extended QOs:
OF Mark Trumbo (17 - 2016) ----------- $9.0m - Type B
SP Jeremy Hellickson (35 - 2016) ---- $6.0m - Type B
OF Dexter Fowler (14 - 2016) ---------- $10.5m - Type A
OF Yoenis Cespedes (19 - 2015) ----- $8.5m - Type B
OF Jose Bautista (6 - 2015) ------------ $19.5m (70% rule) - Type A
OF Ian Desmond (10 - 2016) ---------- $12.0m - Type A
CI Edwin Encarnacion (11 - 2015) ---- $14.0m - Type A
MI Neil Walker (13 - 2015) -------------- $6.5m - Type B
In FGM, we technically have the ability to make a Qualifying Offer to all our players on expiring contracts by extending their contracts based on their ranking in our Extension Value Scale. In MLB, a QO is the average of the top 125 salaries of all MLB players. In FGM, we utilize a ranking of the existing contracts for each position--from the highest to the league minimum--and we now revise that scale every year at the end of the season.
In the list of 8 players listed above, I included their highest rank for the past two years, the salary they would receive if they were free agents in FGM, and whether they would be Type A or Type B free agents. As you can see, they are split down the middle, 4 Type A and 4 Type B. With the exception of Jose Bautista, none of us would sign any of the remaining 7 players for $17.2m ($17.5m) because 1: our rules require a minimum 4 year contract for such a salary (unless it's a 70% contract); 2: it is a prohibitive contract within our limited salary cap structure; and 3: none of them are worth such a contract in our fantasy world.
For us, in Franchise GM, Type A free agents are as follows:
Top 6 C
Top 12 MI, CI
Top 15 OF
Top 30 SP
Top 6 RP
With all this, I recommend a change in our Compensation System to insure a more competitive balance within FGM. I believe the time has come to modify our Compensation System because, under our existing rules, we offer too much compensation and it hurts the smaller market teams. Teams cannot improve through the draft because our Type A and Type B system essentially takes away the opportunity to utilize a high draft pick to secure some much needed talent.
Right now we give TWO draft picks for a Type A free agent and ONE draft pick for a Type B free agent. In the recent draft, we had 12 Type A picks, of which
got 4,
got 2,
got 2,
got 2, and
got 2. Eight of the picks were taken by playoff teams. There were also 10 Type B picks (
got the 3rd pick of the Compensation Round). There were 20 picks between the 1st and 2nd Round and that really impacts the rest of the league because 50 picks were made before the start of the 2nd Round (and a 2nd Round pick essentially becomes a 3rd Round pick). This practice impedes the development of rebuilding teams with high draft picks because they lose the opportunity to get top tier talent--with needed talent essentially going to the more successful teams.
In MLB, it is the players who are declining the QO, and that offer is only a one-year contract. In FGM, we, as Owners/GMs, are the ones who chose to decline the contract offered by our Extension Value Scale. In MLB, there is no Type A and Type B as in the past. A team now decides whether a player is too valuable to lose without compensation and, thus, can decide to make a QO--which places the compensation for that player at ONE draft pick if he signs with another team. In FGM, I believe it is time to adopt the same principle.
So, in an effort to mirror the current practices of MLB, and apply it to FGM, I propose the following:
1: Top 10 first round picks are protected in FGM just like they are in MLB;
2: There are only Type A picks, no more Type B picks;
3: A team in slots 11-30 who signs a Type A player loses their 1st Round pick, but the team losing the Type A player does not assume that spot in the 1st Round. Instead, the pick is lost and the 1st round is condensed. The pick is then awarded in a Compensation Round between Rounds 1 and 2. A team in slots 1-10 loses their Round 2 pick to the team who originally owned the player they signed. If that team in slots 1-10 has a pick in the Compensation Round, because a team in slots 11-30 signed their player, then that pick would go to the team that would have gotten their 2nd Round pick;
4: There will be no compensation for players acquired during the season. The Compensation Rule only applies to players who were on their teams the entire season. This prevents compensation for "rental players acquired in trades".
Under this scenario, our recent 2016 FYPD would have had 28 1st Round picks and a Compensation Round with 6 picks. Instead of the 2nd Round beginning after 50 picks, it would have begun after 34 picks. I believe that promotes a more competitive balance in the league because the talent pool is more accessible to more teams.
What do you think?
