Mariners Moose Tracks, 12/1/16: New CBA in Baseball, Matt Joyce Signs, and Isaiah Thomas Can Beat You In H-O-R-S-E

Happy Thursday everyone! A lot of news came out of yesterday. The most important of which was the MLBPA and MLB coming to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement as the previous one was set to expire last night. If the CBA had expired without a new one in place, there would have been a lockout in Major League Baseball. The Winter Meetings may have been cancelled as a result, which wouldn’t have been fun for anyone.

There are a few interesting tidbits in the new CBA which will surely be dissected in plenty of articles in the coming days. Some of the biggest points include:

1. There will be no international draft, but there will be spending limits (reportedly $5-6M) per season on international players.
2. MLB rosters will remain at 25 players, rather than increasing to 26 as the MLBPA had wanted.
3. The luxury tax threshold will raise slightly each coming year, capping out at $210M in the fifth year of the deal.
4. Changes to the qualifying offer system (active as of next offseason), which means: a team will no longer lose a first-round pick for signing a free agent who rejected a QO. Instead, they’ll lose a third rounder (if the team is under the luxury tax threshold) or a second- and fifth-rounder (if the team is over the luxury tax threshold). This will surely lead to more players rejecting QO’s down the line, which means more big fish in free agency.

Even though the new CBA was a large story, there were a lot of other happenings yesterday. Let’s review.

In Mariners news...

• Lots of good stuff from Baseball America yesterday. First, the website pegs Tyler O’Neill as the 15th-best prospect in the Arizona Fall League this year.
• Secondly, Kyle Glaser (former beat writer for the High Desert Mavericks) previews the M’s top 10 prospects, with in-depth scouting reports for subscribers.
• Glaser also ranks the the players with the best tools in the M’s system.

In MLB news...

• Beyond the Box Score tries to find a new home for (now the best free agent on the market) Justin Turner.
• Grant Brisbee is a fan of the Brewers’ decision to cut Chris Carter and then sign Eric Thames, even if the moves might seem bad at first.
• The A’s agreed to a two-year deal with outfielder Matt Joyce, who had a 20% walk rate last season!
• Jeff Sullivan is a fan of the Matt Joyce signing for Oakland.
• Reports indicate that the Pirates are very likely to trade outfielder Andrew McCutchen this offseason.

Anders’ picks...

• Isaiah Thomas is still making jaws drop all over the country.