St. Louis Cardinals: CBA Impact on International Signings

While the agreement on a new CBA brought mixed feelings of relief and excitement to baseball fans, one provision in the deal will have a negative impact on the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2017 season.

When the 2016 international signing period opened in July, the St. Louis Cardinals were active as huge players. The Cardinals entered the period with a bonus limit just above $2 million, which was the smallest in the league. However, they would blow by this limit on their way to signing sixteen international free agents.

Reports speculated on the St. Louis Cardinals’ motives for spending this aggressively. It is possible that the front office was motivated by the potential of losing draft picks as punishment from the Houston Astros hacking scandal. Further, with the Cubs, Giants, and Dodgers limited in their bonus allotments, there was less competition from high bidders.

Additionally, there was hope that the new collective bargaining agreement would alter the rules for international signings, as well as nullify any penalties outstanding.

With the new CBA in place, there are rule changes which will limit the amount teams can spend. According to Fox Sports, the international bonus pool will start at $4.75 million and range to ~$6 million, with each team’s allotment dependent on its market size.

However, unfortunately for the St. Louis Cardinals, it appears they will still be penalized for their aggressive spending in the 2016 summer:

The St. Louis Cardinals will likely be allotted a smaller international signing bonus for the 2017 period, similarly to the penalty imposed on the Cubs, Giants, and Dodgers. To get a sense of how the $300K limit might impact the Cardinals in the international market, we can compare the limit to the international bonuses offered by the Cardinals this past season.

Of the sixteen international players signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, ten included bonus details. Unfortunately, only three of the ten signings were below this $300K threshold. Four of the signing bonuses exceeded $1 million, including the $2.3 million offered to Jonatan Machado. The other three reported bonuses detailed fell between $400K and $600K. The six that were unreported were likely below $300K.

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So while the St. Louis Cardinals will be limited by this imposed threshold, it likely will not totally preclude them from making international signings in 2017. It will, however, prevent them from pursuing the top international prospects.

Perhaps more troubling is the possibility of an international signing ban. The Boston Red Sox suffered this unprecedented penalty, which barred the team from signing any international players in the current period. The Red Sox were handed this penalty as punishment for cheating the international signing system by grouping players into “package deals.” Depending on how MLB interprets the St. Louis Cardinals hacking scandal, the Birds might face a similar consequence.

The good news for the St. Louis Cardinals is that the $300K threshold or any potential international signing penalty will likely only impact the 2017 signing period. Additionally, since the Cardinals have already brought in their large 2016 international class, they have less of a need to make international signings in 2017. Unless the Cardinals are forced to forfeit any of these players, these prospects will be retained.

Next: The St. Louis Cardinals 2016 International Signings

Ultimately, the St. Louis Cardinals front office must have decided the benefits gained by aggressive international signing in 2016 outweighed the possible penalties. These benefits will help compensate the Cardinals from the potential loss of future draft picks and will help keep the farm system stocked with young talent.