Baseball insider Peter Gammons reported today that Major League Baseball and NCAA baseball coaches have reached "general agreement" on moving the MLB First-Year Player Draft to July 1 and having an annual signing deadline of July 15.
Currently, the draft is between regional and super regional play - normally the first week of June - and the signing deadline fluctuates but is always somewhere around July 15.
The major benefit of this is that players can complete their seasons prior to the draft. I've talked to several coaches today from different schools, and all agree that the draft during the postseason is a major distraction. So, that's a guaranteed win for the college teams.
The July 1-July 15 signing window shrinks nearly a month off the players' decision windows, but since the current collective bargaining agreement occurred, there's not much negotiating between the players and pro teams. I expect some handshake and oral agreement deals to get done quickly, and while it is certainly a tight window, it just removes posturing. It shouldn't be a negative impact in 99 percent of the negotiations.
I brought up roster management as a potential issue with several of the coaches, but none of them thought this was a major deal. My thought was that teams can only have 35 players on the roster, and you don't know exactly how many spots you have until the draft is complete - and potentially the signing deadline is complete. So that's another month without information if you're looking at adding a late signee or deciding how to distribute scholarship percentages.
I'll keep asking and will have more when it's official, but early indications are all positive.
Quickly on Senquez
He told Patrick Ochs at the Senior Bowl today that he'll concentrate on football moving forward. I saw the other thread, and there's some confusion on his intentions. Golson was wanting to play a semester of baseball but he was never questioning football as his professional career. For the most part it was just a final fun season of baseball.
He made the right call. He'll be a draft pick. He'll make a team. And he couldn't have concentrated on baseball. He would have missed this week, the week in February for the combine and also the Mississippi State series for a rookie camp. And if he's on the baseball roster, Mike would have had to release a player currently on the roster.
This post was edited on 1/21 7:54 PM by Chase Parham
Currently, the draft is between regional and super regional play - normally the first week of June - and the signing deadline fluctuates but is always somewhere around July 15.
The major benefit of this is that players can complete their seasons prior to the draft. I've talked to several coaches today from different schools, and all agree that the draft during the postseason is a major distraction. So, that's a guaranteed win for the college teams.
The July 1-July 15 signing window shrinks nearly a month off the players' decision windows, but since the current collective bargaining agreement occurred, there's not much negotiating between the players and pro teams. I expect some handshake and oral agreement deals to get done quickly, and while it is certainly a tight window, it just removes posturing. It shouldn't be a negative impact in 99 percent of the negotiations.
I brought up roster management as a potential issue with several of the coaches, but none of them thought this was a major deal. My thought was that teams can only have 35 players on the roster, and you don't know exactly how many spots you have until the draft is complete - and potentially the signing deadline is complete. So that's another month without information if you're looking at adding a late signee or deciding how to distribute scholarship percentages.
I'll keep asking and will have more when it's official, but early indications are all positive.
Quickly on Senquez
He told Patrick Ochs at the Senior Bowl today that he'll concentrate on football moving forward. I saw the other thread, and there's some confusion on his intentions. Golson was wanting to play a semester of baseball but he was never questioning football as his professional career. For the most part it was just a final fun season of baseball.
He made the right call. He'll be a draft pick. He'll make a team. And he couldn't have concentrated on baseball. He would have missed this week, the week in February for the combine and also the Mississippi State series for a rookie camp. And if he's on the baseball roster, Mike would have had to release a player currently on the roster.
This post was edited on 1/21 7:54 PM by Chase Parham
