Was that really necessary? We get enough of that from certain others already. It's an opinion I disagree with too, but come on.
I certainly agree that the players have every right to keep their illegal bonuses, and we deserved to lose them for breaking the rules. That said, the $22,725,000 (including the 50% overage penalty) the organization lost in bonuses paid to Maitan, Gutierrez, Severino, Contreras, Pena, Soto, Del Rosario, Negret, Zuniga, Sucre, Mezquita, and Rojas, plus the loss of Bae and his bonus money was more than enough of a financial penalty - particularly for a mid-market team. In essence, that money could've paid for a full season of a Moustakas, Arrieta, Darvish-level player had the organization chosen to spend those resources that way instead.
MLB understandably wanted to send a message with the future penalties - and should have IMO - but probably should've been a little less heavy handed with them. Either a simple reduction in total bonus pool for a year (without a limit of how much could be spent per player), or a longer than two year period where they couldn't spend more than $300,000 on anyone (so it'd be harsher than just going over your cap in a particular year) would likely have been sufficient. Without an International Draft, mid and small-market teams are already operating at a huge disadvantage when it comes to signing these kids any way - what this did more or less assures that the Braves can't compete for the best international talent for a long time when you consider not being a player in those markets (even for a short period) makes you a non-entity when you DO attempt to sign some of that talent - think about how much of a disadvantage other teams have had when it comes to beating us when trying to sign players from Curacao because we've always been the biggest player there.
Of course that's nitpicking too - the Braves apparently realized arguing about these penalties wan't only frivolous, it would've been a waste of time. When you get stopped for drunk-driving, the penalty for the first-offense is essentially the same for everyone whether you blow .08 or .16 - it gets substantially worse when you thumb your nose at everyone and do it again and again.
Last edited by clvclv; 12-06-2017 at 10:19 AM.
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
clvclv (12-06-2017)
Ventura's Stolen Bases
The exact dollar amount means nothing. Many guys will get paid significantly less because there's no money left for a lot of teams or they're holding out for another guy right at the moment. The one guy you'll see that was a good sign of an overpay was Gutierrez, but everyone knew that when he was signed.
Gus: You don't know anything about scouting.
Johnny: Don't tell them that.
There is more to the punishment than could be put into press. This punishment was for actions well beyond anything that MLB had punished before, so the punishment was going to be beyond anything seen before.
The players had no idea the Braves should not have been able to offer them money. They very well might have signed for even more if they would have known at the time. Now they enter a market with limited assets due to the time of year that they are released. I wouldn't agree at all with hindering the players at all.
The Braves f'd up. They f'd up bad. This sucks, but it's part of what was earned by actions of the club.
Gus: You don't know anything about scouting.
Johnny: Don't tell them that.
I disagree.
The party in the best position to understand and comply with MLB's rules are the teams, not the prospects.
If MLB makes it clear that you will not get any benefit and be severely punished if you break the rules then the MLB teams may decide not to break the rules. In any event, it does create the incentive for teams complying with the rules to report wrongdoing rather than engage in it themselves, because they know there is actually some enforcement edge.
No one forces MLB teams to pay players under the table and the players are the least likely people in the whole arrangement to benefit.
I have no problem with them getting a second payday that lets the player get closer to getting their true value.
jpx7 (12-08-2017)
Report: Severino gets $2.5 million from Twins, considerably more than Maitan got.
jpx7 (12-08-2017)
The Twins primary beat reporter put out a piece online last night that the Twins were the high bid on Maitan, but he chose to go to the Angels because of the depth the Twins have at SS. Not the same depth at 2B for Severino. Severino is the first of the ex-Braves to exceed his previous signing bonus and the second to receive 7 figures now.
Gus: You don't know anything about scouting.
Johnny: Don't tell them that.
Did these kids have agents at original signing? If so, that agent should not be able to represent them at new signing
Now Pena goes off the board, to the Rangers.
Can't make up my mind if Contreras not signing is a hopeful one that the Braves might retain him.
jpx7 (12-17-2017)