Buster Olney's column, he breaks down how getting Type A Free Agent status actually hurts the trade value of a player, as the teams have to give up two draft picks when signing a Type-A (as opposed to one pick for a Type B).
The Astros' Type As, with Olney's commentary from a panel of six executives and player representatives:
LaHawk:
Four of six predicted that the Astros will offer him arbitration. Said one official: "They should offer it to both (Hawkins) and Jose Valverde, but I don't know if they will." Said a player representative: "If they offered arbitration to him, that would really hurt his market, a lot like it did with Cruz. Nobody is going to surrender a draft pick for an older reliever."
Tejada:
Six of six predicted the Astros will not offer him arbitration.
Valverde:
Four of six predicted that the Astros will not offer him arbitration. "They won't devote that much money to paying for a closer," said one official. Another countered: "He'd probably get $10 million or $11 million in arbitration, and so the worst-case scenario would be that you have to eat a little more money than you expected, and the best-case scenario is that you would get draft picks." Said an AL GM: "If they did offer him arbitration, it would hurt him on the market, because there are a lot of bullpen alternatives where you wouldn't have to give up the draft pick."
If you love Valverde, set him free...
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
