Circle Of Life: As A Small Market Ball Player

Major League Baseball has numbers of problems, from missed calls to the lack of full usefulness of instant replay. The largest problem that comes to mind is the salary cap, or lack there of. After the 1994 strike, a salary cap was proposed, but was not agreed upon by the players union and the New York Yankees partnership. An alternate to the salary cap was the Luxury Tax, or Competitive Tax.


The Luxury Tax is setup for the small market teams to receive stipends, based on the prior years payroll, from a “community pot,” is funded by the large market teams with payrolls exceeding $100M. The large market teams have the ability to pay more than $100M, have a percentage, of the amount spent over that mark, paid into the “community pot,” those amounts are also determined by the previous years payroll. The small market teams have been given the opportunity, with the yearly financial infusions, to be able to spend more money on the draft, offer contract extensions and/or sign big name free agent players.


The Major League Amateur Draft is the best opportunity for teams to find the most talented players, at the cheapest price. The Pirates, for example, spend nearly 12M on the 2010 draft, for players that won’t appear in the majors for several years. With good scouting and the proper contact, a team can have a player under contract for a good portion of his professional career. Over the last two seasons, the Pirates have brought up Neil Walker(‘04 Draft), Andrew McCutchen (‘05 Draft), and Pedro Alvarez (‘07 Draft), whom they scouted and drafted, and were able to make in immediate impact, on the major league squad.

Jay Bruce

With Walker, McCutchen, and Alvarez, along with Jose Tabata, who was acquired through a trade while in the minors, being the core of the team, it is important to keep them together as long as possible. The best way for that to happen is with a contract extension. There has been a lot of talk about extending McCutchen, while they still can, due to the recent extension of Reds OH Jay Bruce, who was just given, up to, $64M until 2017. McCutchen, who was designated a “Super 2,” could avoid arbitration with a contact extension, and is currently under contract until the end of 2015. Without being able to extend players contacts, small market teams will lose their best players to free agency, I.E. Carl Crawford.

Carl Crawford

The Tampa Bay Rays, this off season, were unable to resign Carl Crawford, after becoming a free agent. Crawford, who signed a 7yr/$142M contract with the Boston Red Sox, was never extended with the Rays. While small market teams lose  their best players, who eventually sign for outrageous amounts of money, that small market cannot afford, end up with teams like the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers. When teams are unable to extend players contracts, and it is inevitable that players will leave, via free agency, they have no choice by to trade the fan favorites.


The Pirates, in the past, have lost several players to free agency, my prime example is Barry Bonds. Where would the organization have been, during the mid-90’s, if he had been signed to an extension, during the Leyland Era, or who could they have gotten, in return, if he were traded? The Pirates have made numerous trades, in the past, that have been far from fan friendly; I.E. Aramis Ramirez, Jason Bay, Nate McClouth, Jack Wilson, and Freddy Sanchez, just to name a few. While not all trades gave the best return, most of the recent trades have shown great return with Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Joel Hanrahan and Gorkys Hernandez.


It is inevitable that the Pirates are going to lose a, McCutchen, an Alvarez, or a Tabata, to a trade or free agency. The Pirates are THE small market team that has been plagued with 18 years of losing, and with the proper front office management, the streak will end soon. They have, and will always be a stepping stone for players, to move on to other teams. Fans just have to maintain focus, on the bigger picture, and hope that if a player will be leaving via free agency, that he will be traded, in hopes of getting prospects in return. The future, of the organization, will always be in hands of the prospects, in the farm system.


Remember, its always better to get something in return, than get nothing at all.