International signing bonus slot money?

[WillyM]

I thought money was money.  I thought that if a team has money, they can use it to sign anybody they want to, whether he's from some place in the United States or any place else.

But apparently Brad Brach was traded for international signing bonus slot money, and somehow that's different from just plain old money.  Best I can figure, it can only be used to sign a player from outside the United States.

Can somebody explain to me the concept of international signing bonus slot money?

Does MLB have some sort of special banking system set up, where there is only a limited amount of international signing bonus slot money available in total for all 32 teams, and they have a special accounting system to keep track of who's got how much of it?  Does that mean that if a team wants to sign an international free agent and he doesn't accept the amount of international signing bonus slot money they offered, they can't just use plain old money to sweeten the offer?

[Frobby]

Each team is assigned a certain amount that they are allowed to spend on international players.    It’s the team’s own money that gets spent.    One team can trade a portion of its allocation to another team, subject to certain limits on how much the assignee team can acquire.   

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

I.E. the more bonus slots the Orioles acquire the rights to from other teams means they have more money to offer to prospects like Victor Victor Mesa.  

[WillyM]

Thank you, Frobby, that helps me, at least a little.

Seems like whenever there's talk about a really hot free agent from overseas, the talk is always about which one of the big money teams, like the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Dodgers, is going to get him.  Do those teams get assigned a bigger amount to start off with than the smaller-market teams do?

[Chavez Ravine]

6 minutes ago, WillyM said:

Thank you, Frobby, that helps me, at least a little.

Seems like whenever there's talk about a really hot free agent from overseas, the talk is always about which one of the big money teams, like the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Dodgers, is going to get him.  Do those teams get assigned a bigger amount to start off with than the smaller-market teams do?

It's the other way around. Teams that get awarded competitive balance draft picks get more money (or the right to spend more money) and teams that go over the luxury tax threshold get assigned less money opportunity.

A team can trade for more money (up to 75% of their allotment) like we did with Brach.

Big spenders can also invest money in other ways....like building a vast network of scouts and training facilities that magically steer players to them.

[Frobby]

21 hours ago, WillyM said:

Thank you, Frobby, that helps me, at least a little.

Seems like whenever there's talk about a really hot free agent from overseas, the talk is always about which one of the big money teams, like the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Dodgers, is going to get him.  Do those teams get assigned a bigger amount to start off with than the smaller-market teams do?

It’s important to know that the rules have changed a lot.   There were no limits on international spending through 2011.    Beginning in 2012, there was a slotting system, but teams could exceed their allotment and pay a tax.   Now the allotment is a hard cap.   Also, there were some loopholes allowing certain Cuban players to be treated outside the slotting system that have been tightened up.   

[Emory Eagle]

Do allotted amounts carry over to the next signing period if they are not spent?  It seems like there are a number of teams (Os, Marlins, Yankees, etc.) trading for more international signing bonus money but from the posts I've seen elsewhere on the board it doesn't appear that there are very many attractive targets still unsigned.

[Frobby]

On 7/31/2018 at 3:25 PM, Emory Eagle said:

Do allotted amounts carry over to the next signing period if they are not spent?  

No.

[weams]

Allotments are not money. They are the ability to spend money without penalty on a specific class of amateur free agents not covered by the first year player draft. 

At some point, all players worldwide will be subject to this draft and all children will be given the chance to go to school and not have to work full time at age 16. 

This is not currently the way baseball rules work. 

I'd be for  league sponsored academies (all teams contributing equally) requiring academic standards - ones that allow part time work on baseball, combined with language and physics and financial education. All players who graduated (at age eighteen) could be eligible for the rule four draft. Or they could go to college if someone wanted to give them scholarships.