The NFL lost several months of the off-season in their negotiations for a labor agreement. The NBA is currently in the midst of flushing fans and games down the toilet because of their lack of one. So in one sense, Major League Baseball looks strong and stable for its ability to peacefully and calmly develop a new collective bargaining agreement while keeping up its normal activities. But that new agreement has come under some heat for its seeming bias against small market teams.
In short, teams are being prohibited from paying Scott Boras like prices to international free agents and MLB draftees. Now with a firm slotting system in place, there’s no trophy for lower-market teams to pay over slot and grab high risk/reward guys for their farm system — the very guys that the Royals have been stocking up on for years. In the future, then, the Royals won’t be able to be the Royals. But Dayton Moore doesn’t buy that.
“We really believe that whatever the rules are,” ”http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/24/3284494/moore-doesnt-believe-new-labor.html#ixzz1ejA4gN7S" target="new">Dayton Moore told the Star’s Bob Dutton, “we have to adapt to them and be successful within the confines of the structure. That’s our mind-set. I think there is still a lot of flexibility in this new agreement for you to be creative."
The Royals are competitive now, but they also have to think about the future. The hope there, however, is that by playing at a high level, revenues will increase and the money will be there in the future. Plus if they trade a player who is overpricing himself from KC’s budget, then they could restock the farm system at that time. But that’s a problem for another time, since the Royals are trying to be competitive now.
Knowing what it’s taken to get here, however, it’s hard not to think about it. The Royals have taken years to even have these signs of life, so to take away the promise of maintaining that is disheartening for not just Kansas City but the others who fit in that bracket.