Not sure about Cespedes. Is he actually a FA after 4 years, or does his contract simply end and he becomes subject to the arb process? That’s how it’s worked in the past for international players…

I was on the fence about the Offseason Handbook, and the promo in the podcast was the push I needed. Nice choice on the code!

I love your weekly Podcast. Especially the “off-radio” ones where you don’t have to comply to radio rules. I’m a stats geek and consider myself very well versed in the Saber World and the real world as it relates to roster requirements, service time, etc. Having said that, I do have a few questions that I’d call fine-tune questions. Dealing with service time and luxury tax. (As we all know, the luxury tax will effect the Twins greatly.)

1) Service time related: We all know (or should know) that you can become a FA after 6 full seasons of service time. How is that Cespedes out in Oakland will be a FA after only 4 years? Is there a different criteria for a foreign player who wasn’t drafted?

2) Luxury Tax Question related: I get the 180M threshold. But I want to focus it on A-Rod and the Yankees. First question, A-Rod signed a 10 year deal for 275M. From a luxury tax perspective only, does that mean that he counts against the Yanks luxury tax # for 27.5M each year during the 10 year cycle, or does he count againt the actual amount he’s being paid that specific season? For example, he’s due around 29M in 2013, do the Yanks get dinged that amount (and 20M per year the last 2 seasons of the deal)or do they go by average annual value?

2nd question, again luxury tax and A-Rod related. I for one can’t figure out how they can justify giving the guy away for mere pennies on the dollar. The only theory I could come up with (unless he’s so utterly horrible to have around for clubhouse reasons)is perhaps the Yanks may do themselves a service on the luxury tax front? So my question is. For the sake of argument, let’s say the Yanks trade A-Rod to another team and the Yankees eat 100M of the remaining 114M he’s due. Again, from a luxury tax perspective only, does that absolve them in any way from the luxury tax? In other words, by virtue of him being on another roster, will he still count against them even though they’re paying the bulk of his salary? I hope that makes sense and you can see what I’m driving at. Anyway, great work with the show and blog. And now I have to give you a hard time. Outside of Charles Barkley’s “turr-ible”, you got the best terrible in the media!! I typically set the over/under of your usage of that word per Podcast at about 38.5. lol anyway, thanks for the blog and show.