The news that Baseball America had vaulted the Red Sox minor league system from No. 20 to No. 9 in its most rankings did not necessarily cause big ripples within the organization itself.
For one thing, such rankings are highly subjective and, though plenty of work goes into the evaluations, the process is not an exact science. For another, the public ranking merely confirmed what people within the Red Sox player development system already knew for themselves.
"I think anytime the organization is recognized for doing well, whether that be on the amateur side or the professional side or player development, I think that's always a positive,'' said Brian Abraham, the Red Sox director of player development. "I think you'd always rather have it be positive rather than negative. I think on our end, we don't necessarily look at external rankings. That doesn't change how we evaluate, doesn't change our process, doesn't change how we deal with the players. It's always positive to get recognition. But I think if you ask the people here, we probably thought we were in a little better spot than (they had us) last year.
"A lot of it can be dependent on your top prospects and (how many players you place) in the Top 100, which we obviously have some more of this year, which is great. But I think throughout the system and the organization, we're very happy with some of the depth we've acquired, the depth that we've developed over the last two years. Overall, it's always good to be higher rather than lower. But whether (someone else has us) ninth, 15th or 25th, I don't that changes how we look at things.''
Still, at the very least, the big leap forward is good for morale within the organization. The minor league coordinators, managers, coaches and other field staff can take some pride that an independent evaluation has confirmed that they're heading in the right direction.
There's also a public perception that can come into play, which could help the Sox down the road in trade talks. Every organization does an evaluation of competing organizations based on their own scouting, but when publications such as Baseball America regard your system in the upper third of the game when it comes to talent, that can drive the perception of other organizations.
"I think there's some truth to that,'' conceded Abraham. "You look at Tampa Bay and what they've done over the years and you naturally think their prospects are really good, (even when) they may not be. I think there's a feeling that the fifth-best Rays prospect might be better than the fifth-best prospect of whomever might be (ranked) 30th. That's a real thing. When it comes to trades and different things and the rankings, it's like, 'OK, they traded their first and third prospect for X player. Well, the first and third prospect might not be nearly enough from another team. Or it might be way more. So yeah, I think that's a real thing.
"I do think there's a piece of perception to it. It's not just us saying, 'Hey, we're improving.' It's other people watching and seeing and sometimes it's nice to get some affirmation, externally, on that end. Not just from, whether it be Chaim (Bloom), (Brian O'Halloran), myself, Raquel (Ferreira), Ben Crockett, Eddie Romero to be saying we're moving in the right direction. It's nice for other people to be saying, 'Hey, they are.' It's not just us telling them that, it's other people as well. Whether that's the be-all, end-all, it's not. because other teams are obviously going to rely on how they feel. But it's certainly better than the opposite.''
The Sox now boast a number of high-end prospects, from Tristan Casas at Portland to recent first-round pick Marcelo Mayer at the Gulf Complex League affiliate in Fort Myers. But they've also improved their depth throughout the system, which can be equally important to the parent club over time.
"As Chaim has said multiple times, it's all about sustainability,'' said Abraham. "It's being able to have guys continues to come out, year after year, in different roles. They don't always have to be superstars. They could be role players, they could be off the bench, they could be starters, they could be relievers. Being able to do that consistently is why farm systems and organizations do well.''
Independent of the uptick in individual talent, there's also the fact that the top four affiliates in the system (Worcester, Portland, Greenville and Salem) all have winning records with Portland and Salem currently leading their respective divisions. For those in player development, it's all about readying players to contribute to the big league club and not won-loss records. Still, there's a benefit to prospects being in a winning environment,
"Learning to win is a real thing,'' said Abraham. "It's a really fine line, something we talk to our staff and players about, between development and winning on a nightly basis. I think they go hand-in-hand. A really good (minor league) manager and staff member is able to integrate the two, where you're improving and getting better and you're doing well. Sometimes that doesn't always happen. But when you have good players and you have good staff, you're working at improving and you're winning, that creates an environment that promotes more growth, promotes more adjustments. Because it's a lot easier to do when you're successful.
"Winning is a good thing. We certainly don't want to take away the development side. But I think overall, it says a lot about an organization when it's winning from top to bottom and putting it altogether on the field as a group. I remember hearing about (the Single A team 10 years ago) that included Jackie (Bradley), Matt Barnes, (Christian Vazquez) -- those guys all played together and won and grew together. It's really important for the players to know that they're part of something bigger than themselves.''
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Major League Baseball made its first proposal to the MLB Players Association toward a new collective bargaining agreement this week. In theory, that's a good sign, since it shows some effort toward a new CBA with the existing one expiring after the current season.
But the details of the proposal hardly augur well for a smooth negotiation -- not that one was necessarily expected.
According to The Athletic, MLB proposed lowering the first threshold for the competitive balance tax (CBT) from the current $210 million to $180 million, while upping the first penalty from the current 20 percent to 25 percent. (There would be additional thresholds with higher rates of taxation that weren't specified in the report).
As a counter-balance, MLB also proposed instituting a "salary floor'' with teams required to spend a minimum of $100 million in salary. (For some perspective, it's estimated that about a dozen teams began the 2021 season with team payrolls under $100 million, though that number probably reflects restrained spending by some clubs in recognition of the pandemic, losses suffered during the shortened 2020 season and the uncertainty of playing before full ballparks this season).
While the latter proposal -- a floor -- may, in theory, appeal to the MLBPA, it's doubtful that would be enough to offset the union's objection to lowering the first threshold. The union has historically been opposed to the introduction of the salary floor, believing that represents a slippy slope and paves the way for MLB to eventually propose a ceiling, or a hard cap. And that, essentially, is what's included in this proposal.
The MLBPA's stance is that the CBT thresholds have, in effect, served as, at best, a drag on spending, and, at worst as a de facto salary cap. In fairness, the union bears some responsibility for this, since in the last negotiations, it concerned itself with some trivial items as personal chefs in the clubhouse and open seats on team buses, seemingly blind to the fact that the increased penalties on payroll would drastically limit spending by teams.
This year, it would appear that only the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers will go over any of the thresholds. The Dodgers were already well over all three thresholds to begin with, then, amazing, kept adding payroll with their acquisitions of both Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, seemingly oblivious to the financial and competitive penalties that will come with their free spending, in an effort to repeat as champions.
Meanwhile, several big-market teams studiously avoided going over any of the thresholds with their careful maneuvering at the deadline. In their trades for both Joey Gallo (Texas) and Anthony Rizzo (Cubs), the Yankees were so insistent on staying under the CBT that they insisted teams pay the remaining salary obligations of both players, while offering a better prospect package in return.
The Red Sox say they would have considered going over the first threshold for the right player(s) -- they absorbed the remaining money owed to Kyle Schwarber, their biggest acquisition, bringing them within less than a million of the $210 threshold -- but ultimately remained under.
If MLB believes the salary floor will sway the union into accepting a lowering of the CBT thresholds, it's probably profoundly mistaken.
In theory, yes, the introduction of a floor will mandate an increase in spending by small-market teams like Tampa Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and others to bring their payroll expenditures up by as many as $30 million or so.
But already, there's a fear that, in order to be in compliance with the new minimum spending figures, small-market teams would simply take on a big contract from a high payroll team. In one example that nearly already played out at the deadline last month, the San Diego Padres (dangerously close to the first CBT threshold) discussed obtaining Gallo from Texas in exchange for Eric Hosmer -- who's due almost $50 million over the next few years -- and their top position prospect, outfielder Robert Hassell III.
But while such a deal would have kept San Diego from worrying about paying the luxury tax and brought Texas into compliance had a salary floor been in effect, it would have been, in actuality, a mere shuffling of dollars. The Rangers wouldn't be putting new money into the free-agent market, as the union hopes; it simply would have been taking on a bad contract from another team.
It's safe to say that the Players Association's biggest fear is a continuation of the cautious spending habits we've seen the last four years, where even the elite free agents have been forced to wait until February or later to land contracts and the industry as a whole continues to phase out veteran players in their early 30s and older who can be replaced by prospects making a fraction of established players.
But the above scenario is a reminder that mere accounting sleight-of-hand isn't going to correct any of that. And the notion that MLB's first proposal out of the box was a lowering of the first CBT threshold is a sign that owners are set to take a hard line on payroll spending -- exactly what the union doesn't want.
Sure, the first proposal is just that. But it's not a good starting point for those who hold out hope -- against all evidence -- that these CBA negotiations will go smoothly.
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Will Venable was not hoping for an in-season vacation, a break from the pennant race. He got one anyway.
Venable, the first-year Red Sox bench coach, tested positive for COVID-19 about two weeks ago as the team arrived in Toronto for a four-game series. Venable was fully vaccinated, but like others in the game, became a breakthrough case.
Due to MLB protocols and those of the Canadian government, Venable wasn't allowed to leave with the Sox when they departed Toronto on Aug. 8, and was forced to remain quarantined in a hotel room for approximately 10 days.
"It was a quiet 10 days, by myself, inside,'' said Venable. "I'm happy to get back with the boys and obviously, get outside and have some fresh air. You miss just being part of the grind. You're watching on TV, watching the boys be battling and you want to be there and be part of it and feel the roller coaster. You can't be in there patting guys on the back and celebrating the wins and feeling the losses with everybody else. Just being detached from the guys was the toughest part about it.''
Venable said he experienced some claustrophobia early in his quarantine.
"The third day was probably the toughest,'' he said. "Then, once I got into my routine and got over the fact that I was going to be staring at the same four walls, it was fine. (The organization) made me as comfortable as possible, always checking in, taking care of everything. It was rough, but they made as convenient as possible.''
Venable developed a daily ritual that included going over advance scouting reports, relaying information to Alex Cora and the rest of the coaching staff, coordinating the daily schedule for the major league team. And of course, watching every pitch of every Red Sox game.
"There's so much more anxiety when you're watching on TV,'' he said. "But at least it was great to be able to do that. After that, it was Netflix, learning some Spanish and just trying to be productive and not lose my mind.''
