4th keeper updated dicsussion with official proposal

OK, we need to get the ball rolling here and just iron something out so we can move on to voting, keepers and draft lottery. Spring training is quickly approaching.

I've rounded up everyone's opinions and after the jump, here's where we stand.



NOTE: Click here to view original discussion

NO SLIDING SCALE:
• Hal
• Joe
• Chris
• Andy

SMALL/MEDIUM SLIDING SCALE:
• Ken
• Bob

BIG SLIDING SCALE:
• Shea

UNDECIDED
• Mike
• Dave
• Jack
• Rick
• Adam

I've spoken on and offline to a bunch of people over this and heard various opinions, and good arguments for both sides. The most common thing that has come up has been the "Trout problem" in which one person gets a diamond in the rough via free agency and gets him for 4 years in exchange for a measly 23rd round pick. Some would say it's a minimum-to-no-risk move, but the counterargument to that is if he is a bust or gets hurt, you're stuck with him and can't use the wildcard keeper spot on anyone else for those next 3 years.

So, with that said, and because I simply don't think anything is going to be really agreed upon, here's my official proposal after hearing all arguments and opinions:

There WILL NOT be a sliding scale for drafted players. This is the reason for the wildcard keeper in the first place - to put more emphasis on the draft and add the extra strategical element. If you find that diamond in the rough via a shrewd draft, good for you. Besides, is it really going to matter if you drafted Mike Trout in Rd. 23 and have to give up your, say, 15th round pick 4 years later? No, it's not. And anything stricter, it seems as if the 4th keeper wouldn't pass the voting stage anyway.

However, there WILL be a sliding scale for undrafted free-agent pickups. This would alleviate the fears that some have expressed of some unfairness, while also not crippling anyone who wants to keep a FA. In Year 1, you lose your 23rd pick. In Year 2, you lose your 16th pick. In Year 3, you lose your 9th pick. (For comparison's sake, if you kept an undrafted FA for 3 years, you could keep him that 3rd year for a 9th round draft pick loss or you could cut him for a 6th round draft pick loss, per our standard keeper rules.)

Under this proposal, a player who gets drafted, cut and picked up would fall under the category of a drafted player.

Note: All "rounds" are per Yahoo's draft designation in this case (i.e. Round 4 would be the first player you manually pick)

Another thing to remember, of course, is that this wrinkle is not taking the place of our normal 3 keeper spots. You'll still have those without any initial draft pick loss, of course.

What does everyone think?