The final issue to settle in CBA talks between MLB and the union "is apparently over the draft bonus slotting system commissioner Bud Selig wants installed," according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Selig and some small-market owners "are so far being adamant about their support for slotted bonus money for draft choices, while the union is balking at slots but offering compromises like a taxation system to discourage some spending." MLB "apparently is so interested in the slotting system that at one point it mentioned a willingness to drop draft pick compensation being tied to free agents." Union reps "see slotting as a type of salary cap, which they abhor" (SI.com, 10/31). In N.Y., Bill Madden notes baseball's labor negotiations until now "have been described by both sides as 'conciliatory' and 'productive' with optimism all around about an agreement being reached well before the Dec. 11 expiration of the present labor deal." But Selig "has apparently drawn a line in the sand, saying he can't have a new labor deal without draft slotting." Madden notes both the NFL and NBA "already have similar systems." One MLB exec said, "Until they get this resolved, this is going to put a big crimp on free agency, especially the big ticket guys. The clubs have to know what all this is going to cost." Reports indicate that MLBPA Exec Dir Michael Weiner is "getting major pressure from the agents -- particularly the heavy hitter agents like Scott Boras, who has routinely recruited the majority of the top draft picks and extracted higher and higher bonuses every year -- not to give in on the slotting" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/1).
