Yankee Pride brought up the only way teams can pickup extra draft choices in the real Major Leagues.
Heres an article about a team aquiring drafts picks in a real situation.
Every year, free agents are divided by position and quality by a process that takes into account the past two seasons and heavily favors counting stats. The top category, Type A, is the slot many players who have started at their position over the last two years end up fitting into -- obviously, they look great when compared to the likes of Chris Jones and Keith Lockhart. Any team signing a Type A free agent must give either their first- or second-round draft pick to the team losing that free agent, provided they still have that pick. In addition, the team losing the free agent is awarded a "sandwich pick" between the first and second rounds of the draft. These draft picks can add up quickly, as the Orioles should know: by losing Eric Davis, Rafael Palmeiro and Roberto Alomar last offseason, they ended up with seven picks in the top 50 of the 2000 draft.
The implications of the Royals failing to trade Stillwell? For losing the services of a defensively challenged middle infielder with no stick, they were awarded both the Padres' first-round pick and a sandwich pick. That sandwich pick? Current Royal Johnny Damon.
Chances are, Bordick will be rated a Type A free agent at the end of the season. If the O's had held on to him, they would have been virtually assured of a couple of high draft picks for him signing somewhere else. As it is now, the Mets get those picks -- in addition to the services of a shortstop they badly need -- and it cost them only a flamethrowing pitching prospect with control issues, a couple of utility players too old to make a difference on the next good Baltimore squad and a 23-year-old gassing the youngsters his third time around the league in A ball.
Obviously, even a high draft pick doesn't ensure that an organization will pick up a useful player: the Royals drafted washout Jim Pittsley with the other pick they got for Stillwell. Sometimes, a team gets more than fair value for a veteran on a deadline deal, like Cam Bonifay's Pirates did when they stole Enrique Wilson and Alex Ramirez for Wil Cordero. At some point, though, it becomes a better gamble to take the compensatory draft picks than to peddle the free agent to the highest bidder -- something teams entering a wholesale rebuilding phase, like the Orioles, would be wise to keep in mind.
Dave Pease writes for the Baseball Prospectus, the annual book by the same name, covering over 1500 players with in-depth statistical analysis and hard-hitting commentary. Dave may be reached at
dpease@baseballprospectus.com.
found this at ESPN.COM
I don't know about you but this would be great to have...
Johnny