International Bonus Slots Another Sign Of Draft Nearing

There won’t be an international draft this year, but the structure of how the 2013-14 bonus pools were determined is another hint that an international draft is on the horizon.

While every team received a $2.9 million international bonus pool for the current 2012-13 signing period, the 2013-14 international pools are based on reverse order of 2012 winning percentage, which means the Astros will have the most amount of money to spend, and the Nationals the least.

However, teams were not just assigned a straight bonus pool figure for 2013-14. Instead, all 30 teams are assigned four slot values, with 120 slot values total (see the chart at the end of this story). The slots values are tiered, with the top slot ($3.246 million) worth the most, then the No. 2 slot ($2.873 million), all the way down to the 120th slot ($135,000) having the lowest value.

For example, the Cubs, who finished with the second-worst record in 2012, have the slot values for No. 2 ($2,873,000), No. 32 ($462,300), No. 62 ($312,200) and No. 92 ($209,700). Each team takes the sum of their four slot values, then adds another $700,000 to get its total bonus pool, which for the Cubs would be $4,557,200.

In practical terms, however, what mostly matters for the team is the total value of its pool space. The Cubs aren’t limited to spending $2.87 million on their top signing or $462,3000 on their second-biggest signing. They have a $4.56 million pool to spend however they see fit.

So why the complex structure when MLB could have just assigned a straight bonus pool value to each team?

The answer—which should surprise nobody, although even some international team officials admitted they didn’t realize it—is that MLB is pushing toward an international draft, possibly as soon as 2014. The 120 international slots would provide an easy stepping stone to transition to a four-round international draft next year.

According to Baseball America’s sources, that’s one possibility that has been discussed, although the length of the draft and whether the picks would be hard slotted are still unknown. After the international draft, teams would likely be allowed to sign nondrafted international free agents up to a certain amount, similar to the June draft for domestic players.

Where the specific slot values do come into play for the 2013-14 international signing period is with trades. While teams have not been given final details of the trade rules, clubs know they are allowed to trade for up to 50 percent of their allocated pool space. So if a team has a $2 million pool, it can trade for another $1 million in pool space. However, a team can’t just trade for $1 million—it has to trade for a slot value, or multiple slot values.

We’ll dig into the specifics of trading pool space in another story soon. For now, here are the 120 preliminary slot values, which are expected to be finalized within the next few weeks:

2013-2014 INTERNATIONAL BONUS SLOTS
Slot	Team	Slot Value
1	Astros	$3,246,000
2	Cubs	$2,873,000
3	Rockies	$2,542,800
4	Twins	$2,250,700
5	Indians	$1,992,100
6	Marlins	$1,763,100
7	Red Sox	$1,560,500
8	Royals	$1,381,200
9	Blue Jays	$1,222,400
10	Mets	$1,082,000
11	Mariners	$1,009,500
12	Padres	$942,000
13	Pirates	$878,900
14	Diamondbacks	$820,000
15	Phillies	$765,100
16	Brewers	$713,900
17	White Sox	$666,100
18	Dodgers	$621,400
19	Cardinals	$579,800
20	Tigers	$541,000
21	Angels	$534,000
22	Rays	$527,000
23	Orioles	$520,100
24	Rangers	$513,400
25	Athletics	$506,700
26	Giants	$500,100
27	Braves	$493,600
28	Yankees	$487,200
29	Reds	$480,800
30	Nationals	$474,700
31	Astros	$468,400
32	Cubs	$462,300
33	Rockies	$456,400
34	Twins	$450,400
35	Indians	$444,600
36	Marlins	$438,800
37	Red Sox	$433,000
38	Royals	$427,400
39	Blue Jays	$421,900
40	Mets	$416,400
41	Mariners	$410,900
42	Padres	$405,600
43	Pirates	$400,300
44	Diamondbacks	$395,100
45	Phillies	$390,100
46	Brewers	$385,000
47	White Sox	$379,900
48	Dodgers	$375,000
49	Cardinals	$370,200
50	Tigers	$365,300
51	Angels	$360,500
52	Rays	$355,900
53	Orioles	$351,200
54	Rangers	$346,700
55	Athletics	$342,100
56	Giants	$337,700
57	Braves	$333,400
58	Yankees	$329,000
59	Reds	$324,700
60	Nationals	$320,500
61	Astros	$316,300
62	Cubs	$312,200
63	Rockies	$308,200
64	Twins	$304,200
65	Indians	$300,100
66	Marlins	$296,300
67	Red Sox	$292,500
68	Royals	$288,600
69	Blue Jays	$284,900
70	Mets	$281,200
71	Mariners	$277,500
72	Padres	$273,900
73	Pirates	$270,300
74	Diamondbacks	$266,800
75	Phillies	$263,400
76	Brewers	$259,900
77	White Sox	$256,500
78	Dodgers	$253,200
79	Cardinals	$249,900
80	Tigers	$246,700
81	Angels	$243,500
82	Rays	$240,300
83	Orioles	$237,200
84	Rangers	$234,000
85	Athletics	$231,000
86	Giants	$228,100
87	Braves	$225,100
88	Yankees	$222,100
89	Reds	$219,200
90	Nationals	$216,400
91	Astros	$213,000
92	Cubs	$209,700
93	Rockies	$206,400
94	Twins	$203,300
95	Indians	$200,100
96	Marlins	$197,000
97	Red Sox	$193,900
98	Royals	$190,900
99	Blue Jays	$187,900
100	Mets	$185,000
101	Mariners	$182,100
102	Padres	$179,300
103	Pirates	$176,500
104	Diamondbacks	$173,800
105	Phillies	$171,100
106	Brewers	$168,500
107	White Sox	$165,800
108	Dodgers	$163,300
109	Cardinals	$160,700
110	Tigers	$158,200
111	Angels	$155,700
112	Rays	$153,300
113	Orioles	$150,900
114	Rangers	$148,600
115	Athletics	$146,300
116	Giants	$144,000
117	Braves	$141,700
118	Yankees	$139,600
119	Reds	$137,400
120	Nationals	$135,300