quote:
Mize had plenty of leverage. Juniors get plenty of leverage, and especially the first pick. Everyone keeps referencing Detroit getting the second pick next year, but if you are the GM and you don't sign the first pick, you get fired. I don't think alvila is going to lose his job over 500k.
I haven't checked in a week or so, but as of last week many of the first rounders signed for 500k or more under slot value. When the entire first round does that it sets a precedent that Detroit can bargain from.
Mize didn't sign under slot because of leverage. If he wanted he could go to the independent leagues like Luke Hochevar did, Alvila gets canned, and he can sign next year again. Realistically Mize is a good dude and is too smart to do that over 500k. If it were a few million, there might have been issues

You are wrong and don't understand this sphere at all, just leave it at that. You need to understand that he isn't taken first overall without agreeing to what he signed for before the pick was even made, so your whole point about Avila not wanting to lose his job over $500K is completely moot because if that was the situation then Mize wouldn't have even been selected in the first place. In fact there WERE points during the process wherein there was talk that Detroit was seriously considering HS outfielder Jarred Kelenic (who went 6th) as a heavy underslot selection at #1, as well as Joey Bart who went 2nd. The point here is that the team will just come to an agreement with someone else if Mize doesn't want to. Only generational talents can truly play hard-ball because the team can't justify passing on a Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg at #1....and Mize isn't that player, period.

Players cut under-slot deals in the MLB draft because slot values deteriorate so quickly at the top that guys can actually make MORE money by agreeing to take less money at a higher pick, if that makes sense (ie: if you realistically would have gone 10th, you still make more money taking an underslot deal at #6 because there is a $1 million difference in those slots that you can cut between). Here is the situation that you don't understand: it came down to Mize and Bart in the end for Detroit. Had Detroit taken Bart (lets pretend that Mize played hardball and they simply passed), it was then common knowledge that San Fran at #2 was NOT going to take Mize either. That means that his landing spot is then likely Philly at #3...who's pick value is only $6.9 million. So even if Philly selects him under the promise that they're going to give him above that $6.9 mill slot, is he going to make any more money than he ultimately agreed to with Detroit ($7.5 million)? No, he's not. It made every bit of sense for him to agree to the perfectly fair deal that he was offered, and he took that deal because he and his representation aren't stupid.

Yes, he can threaten to go to the Indy League, which 9 times out of 10 is a colossal mistake. He would not get anywhere near $7.5 million next year had he done that (Why would he? His value doesn't magically go up, it can only go down) so that strategy only makes sense if he's in the business of making LESS money. Luke Hochevar did that under a completely different CBA by the way, the rules are now monumentally different and the days wherein kids could just threaten crappy teams at the top and still get $5+ million from the Yankees at the end of the first round are over, because teams like the Yankees picking at the end of the first round can't pay that much anymore due to capped spending. Also, you are hopelessly naive if you actually believe that Avila's job would be up in the air in any way shape or form. As I said, the situation that you are describing would require Mize and his agent to go back on their word and break their pre-selection agreement. Not only would his agent never do that (that's a good way to make sure your future guys never get selected by that team again) but no owner would fire their GM because a kid agreed to sign for 'X' amount, and then later demanded more.

This post was edited on 7/5/18 at 10:31 am