When ordering ice cream, a double dip is really cool. Even in baseball, the kind Ernie Banks favored was great. However, in free agent acquisition, it stinks to have to pay a hefty fee just acquire the same player a second time.
This is precisely what happened to me this past weekend with Gio Gonzalez, as I was tripped up by the LABR rule book.
When the LABR drafts were held in early March, Gonzalez was still a free agent and therefore a risky pick in an American League-only or National League-only format. Still, in the NL reserve rounds, I called out his name, knowing he could reside safely among my six allowable reserves. (The same thing had occurred in AL LABR.)
That plan worked fine — until Gonzalez signed a minor league contract with the Yankees, that is. LABR rules clearly state that I had to drop him at that point, which I did. He remained owned in the AL, but was never activated since he never reached the majors.
When Gio opted out of his Yankees deal, his AL owner could keep him and will be able to accrue his stats generated as a new/old member of the Milwaukee rotation. This was ruled the case by the league commissioner under the “common sense” clause, as the constitution as written does not deal with released players, only traded ones. (I recommended the wording be updated to more accurately reflect the intent of the rule.)
However, when Gonzalez signed with Milwaukee, his NL status became that of a free agent, with my prior rights nullified by the earlier release required by league rules.
I pleaded that the decision to drop Gio was not mine and therefore, he should be restored to my roster. Needless to say, that was rejected.
Part of the logic offered was that a player cannot be owned in both AL and NL at the same time, but in reality that occurs every time a player is traded across leagues.
Another common-sense rejection reason was that the odds should be 50-50 to get to keep/not get to keep every free agent initially acquired. My view is that this unique case of the player changing leagues before ever accruing stats in the prior league should be taken into consideration.
As this was going nowhere, I countered with proposal to change the rules in future seasons.
My idea is to no longer require the reserve player (who is a free agent when drafted) to be dropped if he signs in the other league. (Of course, he could not be active and accrue stats.)
One might think an owner would never tie up a roster spot over the long haul by keeping this ineligible player, but LABR is a different animal. It plays under unique and fairly restrictive rules for reserves. Active players cannot be reserved unless demoted to the minors or suspended. In other words, there is no way to stash an underperforming player. Either he remains active or he must be released.
For that reason, usually teams do not have all six reserve spots filled at any given point in time. For example, I have had at least one open reserve spot all season to date. Had I been allowed, I could easily have kept Gio stashed. Though he would have been ineligible to activate until now, at least I could have maintained ownership.
And if I had dropped him in the interim, it would have been my decision, not one dictated by the rules. I would have no grounds to appeal.
Our commissioner at least considered this idea for a moment, but shot it down because it would limit the player pool. First of all, this would be true only if the kept player actually changes leagues later, and in the interim, the pool could actually be smaller as a result of this roster spot being taken by a player in the other league. Even in the case of the player moving, the impact of this on the free agent pool would be negligible.
I had ended the debate here, however, as I readily admit this entire situation is a rare case. Yet it really frosts me to be put in this spot.
My only choice to get Geo back was to pay through the nose. And that I did. At least that is what I attempted.
After all, a starting pitcher of this quality rarely comes available this early in the season. When bidding, I was well aware that over his five Brewers starts to conclude last season, Gonzalez posted a strong 2.13 ERA after being traded from Washington.
Earlier Sunday evening in NL Tout Wars, at the last moment, I upped my bid from $226 (exactly one quarter of my remaining funds) to $256. As it turned out, my initial amount would have topped the next-best $217 offer. (Note: Tout plays on a FAAB base of $1000 vs. LABR’s more traditional $100.)
So, in NL LABR, I bid an equivalent $22, when only $8 would have gotten the job done. Grrrr…
Double-dip or double dumb? Time will tell about Gonzalez, but perhaps a rules clarification for now and a change for next season will be the good that ensues.
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, having scored the most single-season points in the league’s two decades-plus of history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
