are there sign & trades in baseball?

[Crash2303]

this is really common in the NBA, but i don't hear of them in the MLB. First- why? Second- if there are could a sign and trade with Fielder work?

Then some of the suggestions like 3 way deals with TB could work- like Mets get Fielder (long-term), Rays get Ike Davis, Brewers get one of TB ace pitchers and a prospect from the Mets.

or

a similar deal with BOS and Lars Anderson.

[endaround]

Because of three big reasons: 1) NBA players get the most money by resigning and are so willing to do so 2) Players traded in the middle of a contract in baseball can demand another trade of become a FA at season's end if they have enough service time 3) Players signed as FA cannot be traded until June 15th of the following season.

 

Occasionally you'll get an Arroyo who gave Boston a discount before FA and got shipped off to Cincy, but that's rare.

[Invader3K]

It doesn't work because of the reasons endaround outline. However, teams will sometimes give the other team looking to acquire a certain player a "negotiation window" where they can negotiate a contract with a guy before they complete the trade. That's what happened when Johan Santana was dealt to the Mets.

[Outlander]

There is no point to a sign and trade in MLB because there is no salary cap. In your example above the Mets gave up a prospect for really nothing in return because they can just sign Fielder in free agency. They are not really common in the NBA anymore either because of the economic environment and the team losing a player not wanting to add more salary.

[TooLiveBrew]

If the Mets signed Fielder in FA, there's a chance they'd have to forfeit their first round pick.

[Baldkin]

The reason they are done way more in the NBA is two fold, 1) Salary cap, a team can dump salary to 'sign' a free agent from another team and 2) the home team can offer nearly 20 Million more on a max contract in the NBA than another team can.

 

It's rarely done in baseball, but the Mets sort of did it when they traded for Johan Santana.