The Seattle Mariners are a mid-market team, but they’ve managed some degree of success over the past decade and a half. This success was due in no small part to their international scouting, which has been superior to that of most other teams. It appears the Mariners will be losing that advantage under the new collective bargaining agreement signed last month.
Under the new rules, in 2012, all teams will have the same amount of money ($2.9 million) to use for bonuses to entice players to sign with them. After that, the amount will vary based on how well the team has performed recently. The better they do, the less money they’ll have.
…in future years, a team’s total international budget will be determined based on their Major League win-loss record. If the organization begins to win at the Major League level, they’ll have even less to spend on international talent going forward.
In other words, baseball finally has some parity when it comes to player compensation. The problem is, it’s not where it really counts: total payroll.
