Can MLB teams trade for cash/percentage of TV revenue instead of prospects/players?

[treego14]

It would be nice for the MLB that some of the small-market teams could trade their soon-to-be-very-expensive stars to the big-market teams in exchange for straight up cash and/or a percentage of that big-market team's TV revenue over the next number of seasons.

For instance, let's say that Corbin Burnes has another Cy Young year or two with us and prices himself out of the Brewers payroll limitations for being a small market team with limited TV revenue as a result.  

It would be nice if the Brewers could trade Burnes to the Yankees/Dodgers/etc. for a set percentage of the Yankees/Dodgers/etc.'s TV revenue each year based on an agreed-upon-estimate of Burnes' future length of stardom.  For instance, if it is estimated Burnes will be a star for 4 more years and a quality starter for another 2 years, it would be nice if the Brewers could ask and receive 10-15% of that team's TV revenue in exchange for the first 4 years and another 5% of that team's TV revenue for the next 2 years.

Those percentages in my example might be "off," but I think you get the idea of where I am going here.

This would be a way of evening out the playing field for small-market teams who cannot afford superstars for very long in the current system of MLB's payroll structuring.

Any thoughts from Brewers fans here would be interesting to read.

If this seems feasible, maybe we could pass this idea onto David Stearns (unless he's already thought of this and is working on it already with MLB).

Getting a bunch of "prospects" from these big-market teams in exchange as compensation never seems to be adequate compensation in these circumstances.

Let's even out the TV revenue in the MLB so we can ALL compete for superstars in the future!

[jerichoholicninja]

I believe the league highly frowns upon "selling and buying" players from other teams which is essentially what you're describing. Even when players are traded for cash considerations it's an incredibly small amount of money (relatively speaking).

[young guns]

I would quit baseball forever if the Brewers made a trade like this.

[clancyphile]

Yeah, count me as a "No" on this one.

That said, I think allowing teams to trade draft picks might be an idea whose time has come.

Some limits would be needed, of course (say no more than two out of the top rounds and five out of the top ten rounds), and they'd probably have to take the draft back up to 30 players. but I think it could make things interesting.

[jerichoholicninja]

I don't think you could allow trading draft picks with the QO in it's current form because you're going to have some team unload their first few draft picks and then sign a bunch of QO free agents with essentially no penalty.

[Jopal78]

Players are bought and sold all the time. In fact the Brewers have traded (sold) two players from their organization in the last two weeks for cash considerations. 
 

The problem with selling a player like Burnes is it would be impossible for the purchasing team to get fair value.  
 

For example if Burnes was due 20 million dollars in arbitration and the Brewers we’re going to trade (sell) his contract, the acquiring team would first have to pay the Brewers to acquire the player then pay the player 20 million in salary. In almost all instances, it would make no financial sense as it would be cheaper to simply hire a comparable free agent for less money. 

[Roderick]

I believe the commissioner has to sign off on any trade above $1M.   I would be willing to bet it would have to be very rare circumstances that that is going to be okayed.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Or, we could just have a more effective form of revenue sharing and/or salary cap, then such an idea (imaginative as it is) wouldn't be needed.

I'll imagine the union going for this, as I sit on my unicorn trotting down the road to go visit Elvis.

[Robocaller]

Obviously it depends on who's getting sold. I'd sell Yelich for $1 and consider myself fortunate.