DENVER – It took two years for the strategy that landed the Cincinnati Reds the No. 30 overall pick in Sunday’s Major League Baseball Draft to work.
The premise was acquiring a top player ahead of free agency for a prospect, which gave the big-league club a boost for a potential playoff run, then gaining another comparable prospect through draft pick compensation if the top player signed elsewhere as a free agent.
It backfired during the 2019 season when Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood didn’t play well enough to earn consideration for a qualifying offer, which leads to the draft pick compensation, and they weren’t close to making the playoffs.