Next in the series of "Huh?" is free agent compensation, a topic which has caused some moderate confusion in recent days, and is a timely topic, thanks to Tejada, Valverde, and LaHawk projecting as Type A Free Agents. What does this mean (with some help from Tim Dierkes)
-Players are classified by Type A, Type B, or Type Nada based on the two previous seasons' productivity. Let's use Tejada as the focus of this experiment.
-If Tejada is offered arbitration, declines, and signs with another team (lets just say, for demonstration purposes, that team is the Dodgers), the Astros would receive the Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2010 June draft, and get a supplemental pick between the first and second round.
-If Tejada were to sign with the Padres (again, for demonstrative purposes), they would just get the supplemental pick and the Padres' 2nd-round pick. Why? Because the Padres are in the bottom half of the overall standings, and the first 15 picks are protected.
-Now, for Type B players, if a Type B free agent signs with another team, the Astros would only receive the supplemental pick.
-Another possibility to consider is that if Tejada signs with another team before December 1 (the month in which arbitration is offered/declined/spat upon), the Astros would receive the appropriate draft picks
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
