MLB trade deadline watch: The rare draft picks that could be traded this weekend
The deadline before the deadline is Sunday at 5 p.m. ET, two hours before the start of the amateur draft.
What deadline, you ask? The one for teams to trade their 2024 competitive-balance round picks. Once the draft starts, those selections will be used to grab actual players.
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Not surprisingly, the picks are the subject of trade talk, according to four heads of baseball operations who were granted anonymity for their candor. Deals involving one or more of them are possible, though not necessarily likely, over the next several days.
Competitive-balance round picks — six after the first round this year, eight after the second — are the only ones Major League Baseball allows to be traded. The selections, which go to teams that have either one of the 10 smallest markets or 10 lowest revenue pools, first were awarded in 2013.
Twenty-six of the picks have been dealt, according to STATS Perform. But only four of those trades took place within a month of the draft. From that group, the most successful pick was Connor Joe, whom the Pittsburgh Pirates took at No. 39 in 2014 after acquiring the selection from the Miami Marlins for Bryan Morris.
The picks only can be traded by the team to which they were awarded. The Milwaukee Brewers, holding the first choice in Competitive Balance Round A and 34th overall, cannot deal the selection after acquiring it from the Baltimore Orioles for Corbin Burnes. The Chicago White Sox, holding the third choice in Competitive Balance Round B and 68th overall, also cannot deal their pick, which they obtained from the Seattle Mariners for Gregory Santos.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Pirates, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals are the other teams in Competitive Balance Round A. The slot values of the picks in that round, Nos. 34 to 39, descend from $2.698 million to $2.395 million. A club that acquires the selection also acquires the slot value, increasing the size of its pool and its negotiating flexibility.
The teams in Competitive Balance Round B are the Tampa Bay Rays, Brewers, White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. The slot values of those picks, Nos. 66 to 73, descend from $1.26 million to $1.08 million. The draft positions and slot values of those picks make them less valuable than those in Comp Round A.
Teams have different valuations for what picks actually are worth. Regardless, a low-revenue contender might be motivated to acquire a known major leaguer for an unknown amateur. A non-contender, on the other hand, might covet the pick as an additional way to bring young talent into its organization.
The picks are in play, until Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.
