What’s the deal, MLB?
Draft pick trades would increase interest
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dealin’ Dave Dombrowski wishes he could pull off the kind of deal that Danny Ainge of the Celtics just did.
But alas, Major League Baseball has yet to see the light when it comes to allowing the trading of draft picks.
One day — unfortunately, that day does not appear to be close — MLB will realize that it can provide an instant and substantial jolt of needed energy to its draft, to college and high school baseball and to that younger demographic it so covets by allowing teams to throw draft picks into deals.
Until then, a baseball executive of Dombrowski’s pedigree when it comes to pulling the trigger on blockbusters — see Miguel Cabrera, Chris Sale and Max Scherzer — can only watch from the sidelines when a basketball executive like Ainge trades the top overall pick for a hefty sum in return.
Dombrowski likes everything about Ainge’s move.
“No question he’s got some nerve to be able to do it — I give him credit for it,” said Dombrowski before last night’s game. “But I’ve also found generally that clubs that win and general managers that are successful, they aren’t afraid to do things like that.”
That’s high praise right there, and Dombrowski is quick to add that he is no expert on the talent package that’s involved in the Boston-Philly deal.
He likes the boldness of the deal, but don’t ask him to judge it on its merits or how wise it is.
He’s an NBA fan, and the trade talk stops pretty much there.
“Oh sure, I follow it,” said Dombrowski. “I know the players’ names but I don’t know their abilities well enough. So I don’t know how much better (Markelle) Fultz is than (Lonzo) Ball or (Josh) Jackson or (De’Aaron) Fox or someone like that, that’s (Ainge’s) expertise. But yeah, I think it’s interesting.”
Before Rob Manfred became commissioner, substantial changes to the rules that govern MLB tended to be made at a glacial pace. But Manfred has shown a willingness to listen and an eagerness to adapt and do whatever it takes to grow the game, especially in the inner city, and broaden its appeal, especially among young fans and not take years or decades to implement those changes.
Speeding up the game, instant replay, international play, a drama-free CBA negotiation, pondering a shorter schedule — the message emanating from MLB headquarters these days is that the sport is willing to change and change quickly if it can help the sport’s long-term success.
Some ideas have been kicked around for quite some time, like introducing the designated hitter to the National League, yet there is no sense that sensible idea is picking up any momentum.
That’s what makes this week’s NBA draft and the Celtics deal such a teachable moment for MLB.
Introducing draft pick dealing would be a complicated venture, no doubt, what with compensation in free agency being tied directly to draft picks. That system was revamped in the latest CBA and no doubt it would require far more than a tweak in the next one if draft-pick trades were introduced.
But when you listen to a veteran baseball executive like Dombrowski express genuine enthusiasm for the concept, it’s easy to get swept up in the notion and realize that as radically different as it may sound to some, it would add the kind of attention that the sport covets.
Just think about the attention Ainge’s deal has generated around Boston. Some are horrified at losing a talent like Fultz, while others are tickled that the ballclub will still get a very high pick, plus there’s the feeling Ainge is not done yet.
Imagine if the Red Sox were to be caught up in such a deal this year, trading away an early-round pick for some veteran to help out during a stretch run. Or, in a down year, doing the opposite.
Imagine how much attention would shift to the amateur talent that would be in play.
Imagine the page views MLB Trade Rumors would get.
“I love the idea myself, because it’s creative, it’s fun for the game, it’s a way to approach acquiring talent in a different way — I’m very much for it,” said Dombrowski.
Dombrowski knows as well as anyone that as hard as baseball tries to generate interest in its annual amateur draft in June, it pales in comparison to the other sports.
“There is more to it, of course, college basketball gets more exposure than college baseball, and football does, too,” said Dombrowski. “But I think it would bring more interest to (the draft), because if you were sitting there on the draft floor and said, ‘We just announced that X club has just traded their thirdround draft choice for this player,’ I think it would be interesting. I like it.
“Philosophically, I love the idea.”
Philosophically, everybody should love the idea.
Practically, the complications should be surmountable.
Eventually, the idea should become a reality.