Baseball's biggest guessing game in years has begun - who's protected and who's not?
Tim Wallach, Carlton Fisk, Bob Walk and Bryan Harvey were among those left off exempt lists Monday as major league teams decided which players to expose for next week's expansion draft.Jack Morris and Kelly Gruber of the World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays were reportedly left off, too, and there was speculation that Julio Franco, Vince Coleman and Tom Browning also were there for the taking.
The Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies each will pick 36 players next Tuesday from the pool of players eligible for the draft. Teams had until 2 p.m. EDT Monday to fax their list of 15 protected players to the commissioner's office.
The complete lists, which were sent to the Rockies and Marlins, the commissioner's office and the Major League Baseball Players' Association, were not to be made public. The names on those lists were cloaked in secrecy - some people with access to them were sworn not to reveal them - and not even the players themselves knew whether they were on or off.
Wallach, Fisk and Walk all agreed to waive the no-trade rights they earned as players who have spent 10 years in the majors, including the last five with the same team.
"I don't think I'm going to be drafted, but if there's a team that might draft me, it would be the Marlins because they seem to have the money," Wallach said Monday. "But I don't really have a preference where I go. I'd rather stay in Montreal because we have a chance to win. The guy who is going to take my spot on the protected list might be a guy who might help us win next year."
The Toronto Sun reported today that Morris and Gruber were among those left off the protected list by the Blue Jays.
Morris, 37, was 21-6 with a 4.04 ERA for the Blue Jays. His contract for next season is worth $4.5 million.
Gruber, 30, was hurt last season and dipped to .229 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs. His salary next year is $4 million.
"One spot (the 15th) took us the last three or four hours," Toronto general manager Pat Gillick said. "It took us a while, but I feel comfortable we did the right thing."
Besides those on the protected list, there are two kinds of players who are not eligible for the draft - those with no big-league experience and fewer than three years of pro ball if they signed at age 19, or those with no major league experience and fewer than four years of pro ball if they signed at age 18.
The draft will be conducted in three rounds. Each NL team will be allowed to protect three more players after each round and AL teams can each protect four additional players.
Harvey is one of many high-priced players, such as Browning, Franco and Coleman, who is coming off an injury and will be unprotected. Harvey, who led the American League in saves in 1991, missed half of last season for the California Angels because of elbow trouble and has three years and $11.25 million left on his contract.
Harvey, 29, went 13 for 16 in save chances last season. He was 0-4 with a 2.83 ERA.
Fisk, 45 next month, was injured at the start of last season. He batted .229 with three homers and 21 RBIs for the Chicago White Sox, who have other catchers in their system.
"I was at a point where there was no way I could have protected a Carlton Fisk over some of the kids we have," White Sox general manager Ron Schueler said.
Wallach, 35, slumped to .223 with nine homers and 59 RBIs for Montreal last season.
Walk, 35, was 10-6 with a 3.20 ERA for the Pirates last season.
The Marlins and Rockies are expected to focus on drafting younger prospects, rather than big-name veterans. They also can sign free agents, a luxury that former expansion teams did not have, although both clubs have indicated they will not bid big bucks for Kirby Puckett, Joe Carter, Doug Drabek and others.