MLB to aid Type A free agents?

[NYgiantsfan5689]

Clearly teams don't want Orlando Hudson enough to grab him before spring training....that's why this whole thing was even brought up in the first place, because guys like Orlando Hudson don't grab ENOUGH attention from teams to have them give up picks to sign the guy before anyone else, but they're still Type A

[love_that_reefer]

Because of one guy who has a history of injuries this March 1st plan wouldn't work? That's pretty dumb to say. What about all the free agents that were signed back in December that were Type A and B? Again, if you want a player bad enough you cannot afford to wait til March 1st to sign him. No team can, period! Risky players like Hudson would have to wait. Its a lot better than waiting til June 1st.

[cjkalt]

Why can't they just do sign and trades like every other sport?

[catman]

But what if the Twins have second thoughts about Cruz? Then the Diamondbacks would be stuck with a contract that they can't afford, allowing other teams to low-ball them with minor leaguers that aren't close to first round draft talent.

Thats the deal with the "sign-and-trade". The trade is worked out first and the team then negotiates a reasonable contract with the player. When the contract is agreed on, the original team signs it and trades it to the new team. This sort of thing happens occasionally in basketball, without many problems.