What would happen to the players....?

Question

on a team if that team were to be retracted, like mlb had been talking about doing to a couple of teams?

would they just hit the free agent market, be forced to sell popcorn at minor league games, or would there be some sort of draft for them, and if so how would the draft order be determined?

Answer 1

Interesting question!

To be honest I have no idea! And MLB realizes that it would create a mess by doing it! Add to that the Players Union screaming bloody murder and you have the reasons why it won't happen!

Answer 2

I think if a team were to be contracted it would cause several problems. From existing contracts to what to do with players noone wanted.

First, I would think you would have to give the players the option to opt out of their contracts. Those players would then obviously become free agents.

Second, the players who continued to play under their current contracts would have to go through waivers. I think the same waiver system would apply as applies to players that are waived from their teams now.

Waivers is just a way of having each team putting in a claim on a player and if a team were to be awarded the rights of any of the players the team's position in the waiver process would be to be put at the end of the line. The order would be pre-determined by the opposite order of how good teams finished the season. Worst teams would have the first chance to claim a player.

edit: this is all just my opinion and I think would be a major contributing factor for other owners to not allow this to ever happen.

Answer 3

From reports back when contraction was a pending option after the 2002 season (when the 2002-06 CBA was signed, it was agreed between MLB and the MLBPA that contraction was "off the table" until 2006, at which time, as baseball was flush with cash, it never showed it face), there would have been a dispersal draft to place unaffilated players with the remaining teams. Detailed plans were never released to my knowledge.

Answer 4

I would think they would have a draft to send those players elsewhere. The team with the worst record would get the first selection. I guess they would keep going from the major leagues all the way down to rookie ball.

Answer 5

there probably would be a draft but that is a good question and the order will probably have to be worst record picks first world series champ picks last

Answer 6

There would be a special draft held.

Answer 7

They would all become unrestricted free agents