Hmmm... I guess we have
some clarity from the poll. Remember, the goal is to get down to a single amendment.
Matt's idea has obvious support as does Nick's last proposal, though to a slightly lesser extent. Of all the solutions put forth, Matt's is probably the only one I might consider voting for. It is more forgiving than Nick's and allows for considerable value to be retained early on. Having said that, Nick's looks a LOT simpler and for that reason alone may garner greater support. The one thing I don't like is the disappearance of long-term contracts but hey, if the league wants change...
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Matt's proposal does need some clarification. Here's what I think it should look like, using his original post as the template and modified by me:
1. Each year a player is under contract prior to reaching Free Agency (FA) represents a year of Service Time (ST).
2. After six years of ST, players have reached FA and must enter the auction.
3. Upon completion of their FA year, players may then be placed back under renewable contracts with a maximum contract of one year only.
4. Buyout years do not count towards ST.
5. Rookie contracts do not count towards ST.
6. A multi-year contract cannot be written past a players ST limit.
7. Transition: The system becomes operational with 2018 keeper contracts wherein ALL players begin with zero ST. Existing contract years extending into 2018 and beyond will count towards ST.
8. Matt will be responsible for keeping ST information current and public.
Notes: Six years for the ST limit seems to make most sense (it would allow for two consecutive 3-year contracts).
I altered Matt's non-renewable one-year contracts to allow for renewables (in the FA period).
I removed the elimination of rookie contracts - this will be voted on separately.
The more I think about it, the more it seems that record-keeping will be tremendously difficult. You've got to track ST for players even if not on anyone's team (say, a pitcher who has TJ and is out for the year).
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Here's Nick's. Of all the inflation options laid out in
Todd's spreadsheet, I'm opting for the 1.5x. It seems the most forgiving relative to what we have.
1. Contracts may only be written for one year and are always renewable.
2. The value of the contract is 1.5 x base value, rounded up.
3. Rookie contracts are exempt from the system.
4. Transition: The system becomes operational with 2018 keeper contracts. Existing contracts extending into 2019 will be honored.
Notes:Well, that was easy.
Again, rookie contracts will be voted on separately.