It's all a business

Years ago a teammate signed a free agent contract, went to short season and hit .337. On the last weekend he broke his ankle. The day after he was announced healthy by the doctor he was released. The team had spent far more on rehab than they spent signing him (the minimum). He wasn't really healthy enough to play. He was healthy enough to release without legal repercussions.

This player hasn't even been cleared to do more then preparatory tossing - not even within two months of throwing a bullpen. (I had heard of players released after completing their first bullpens. Which would mean they were medically cleared to throw bullpens.)

Moreover, the draft contract calls for Arizona workers comp law to be imposed - even though the player had only played in AZ for Spring trainings (played in other states for the seasons). And, the player and club are California residents and his last season (where he was injured) was solely in California. As you would suspect, the WC laws in AZ are much more favorable to employers when compared to Cal WC.

For the last 4 to 5 years I've been following quite a few former teammates of my son as they move (or not move) through the MLB system.  I've been learning a lot just from observations, but sometimes I find a good article that answers questions well that I had in the beginning of my son's pro career.  So, as spring training is beginning,  I thought I'd share this link as it can be very helpful in understanding some things for you who have sons just entering the pro ranks or at the early stages.  Hope you enjoy link below.

How to recognize the value an organization is placing on a player

Truman, Thanks for posting. Great article...tough business! Should be "required reading" for HS parents & players! 

baseballmom posted:

Truman, Thanks for posting. Great article...tough business! Should be "required reading" for HS parents & players! 

Indeed. . . it's a very tough business.  

If you're not one of the 30 or 40 "Prospects" in one of the organizations, you're an "Organizational Player" viewed as one mainly to just supply competition for the Prospects;  though an OP still has a long shot at becoming a Prospect (some more so than others).

Thank you for the link Truman, a very informative article.

A local pitcher was drafted several years ago, pitched well, did bounce between levels, in his last MiLB summer striking out several MLB'ers on rehab.  Good ERA at both levels.  We did not understand why he was cut at the end of the summer, this article helps explain the mystery.