Please Vote! Front-Loading Commitments (buyouts and trades)
Aug 25, 2013 22:30:55 GMT -5
Post by Ben (Rays GM) on Aug 25, 2013 22:30:55 GMT -5
Please read this thread for more information. Please feel free to discuss here.
Basically, the proposed rule would allow teams to front-load any and all cash commitments, which include buyouts and salary covered in trades. In effect, it would allow you to pay your debts early.
The rule would go into effect immediately after the season.
You would only be allowed to move these commitments forward, not back. If Team A and Team B agree to a trade where Team A covers $5 million of Player X's salary each year for four years, Team A could choose to pay the salary as 10, 10, 0, 0, or 15, 5, 0, 0, or 10, 5, 5, 0, but he could not make it 0, 10, 5, 5, because then he would have moved 5 million from year 1 back to year 2. Furthermore Team A would not be allowed to load a higher salary onto either year 3 or year 4 than he loaded onto the year immediately previous. So he could not structure the salary as 10, 5, 0, 5, even though this isn't technically backloading since the fourth year is no higher than the average value. In other words, you have to take money from the back of the commitment before you can take it from the middle.
Furthermore, if you do choose to front-load cash-commitments when trading or buying out a player, you will not be allowed to re-acquire that player through any transaction until after the player's contract would have expired.
For now, we're only going to let teams decide whether or not to front-load at the moment of the trade or the buyout. We will not allow you to change your mind after-the-fact. For instance, if I were to buy out Miguel Cabrera and I were to decide to pay his 27.6 million contract through 2015 in its current terms (27.6 million in 2014 and 27.6 million in 2015), I could not later change my mind and decide to move 10 million from 2015 to 2014. This could change in the future, but we'll take it one step at a time, so for now, if I wanted to front-load that buyout, I'd have to say so immediately upon posting the transaction.
However, because this is a new rule, for this offseason only, if you have a pre-existing cash commitment that extends past 2014, you will have until the start of free agency to decide if you want to rearrange some of that salary (frontwards only, of course). So, for example, the Marlins are currently paying 9.7 million to Andre Ethier, who they traded last winter, through 2015. If they wanted to move some or all of the 9.7 million that they're paying in 2015 to 2014, they would be allowed to do so (they would not be able to move any salary to 2013, because by the time the rule goes into effect, 2013 will be over).
We would also likely allow new GMs the opportunity to front-load any pre-existing cash commitments that they inherit.
Thoughts?
Vote!
Basically, the proposed rule would allow teams to front-load any and all cash commitments, which include buyouts and salary covered in trades. In effect, it would allow you to pay your debts early.
The rule would go into effect immediately after the season.
You would only be allowed to move these commitments forward, not back. If Team A and Team B agree to a trade where Team A covers $5 million of Player X's salary each year for four years, Team A could choose to pay the salary as 10, 10, 0, 0, or 15, 5, 0, 0, or 10, 5, 5, 0, but he could not make it 0, 10, 5, 5, because then he would have moved 5 million from year 1 back to year 2. Furthermore Team A would not be allowed to load a higher salary onto either year 3 or year 4 than he loaded onto the year immediately previous. So he could not structure the salary as 10, 5, 0, 5, even though this isn't technically backloading since the fourth year is no higher than the average value. In other words, you have to take money from the back of the commitment before you can take it from the middle.
Furthermore, if you do choose to front-load cash-commitments when trading or buying out a player, you will not be allowed to re-acquire that player through any transaction until after the player's contract would have expired.
For now, we're only going to let teams decide whether or not to front-load at the moment of the trade or the buyout. We will not allow you to change your mind after-the-fact. For instance, if I were to buy out Miguel Cabrera and I were to decide to pay his 27.6 million contract through 2015 in its current terms (27.6 million in 2014 and 27.6 million in 2015), I could not later change my mind and decide to move 10 million from 2015 to 2014. This could change in the future, but we'll take it one step at a time, so for now, if I wanted to front-load that buyout, I'd have to say so immediately upon posting the transaction.
However, because this is a new rule, for this offseason only, if you have a pre-existing cash commitment that extends past 2014, you will have until the start of free agency to decide if you want to rearrange some of that salary (frontwards only, of course). So, for example, the Marlins are currently paying 9.7 million to Andre Ethier, who they traded last winter, through 2015. If they wanted to move some or all of the 9.7 million that they're paying in 2015 to 2014, they would be allowed to do so (they would not be able to move any salary to 2013, because by the time the rule goes into effect, 2013 will be over).
We would also likely allow new GMs the opportunity to front-load any pre-existing cash commitments that they inherit.
Thoughts?
Vote!
