The issue of tanking - intentionally fielding a bad roster to land better draft picks - was discussed at the MLB owners meetings last month, and some believe the practice will be addressed in a new collective bargaining agreement, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.
Thus far, the league hasn't taken any steps to investigate whether teams are purposefully trying to lose, but some clubs have expressed concern that the strategy is gaining popularity among team executives.
Under the current CBA, which expires in December, draft order is determined by the reverse order of the previous year's standings - guaranteeing the best picks to the teams with the worst records - and one ownership source predicted that the new agreement will "probably" address the issue of incentived losing.
Last year, both the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs qualified for playoff berths following extended periods of losing, thrusting themselves back to relevance through years of accumulating high draft picks and larger bonus pools with which to sign their newly drafted players.
2012-2014
| Team | Record | 1st-round picks |
|---|---|---|
| Astros | 176-310 | 5 |
| Cubs | 200-286 | 5 |
The Astros' roster for last year's ALDS featured both Carlos Correa and George Springer, both of whom were first-round picks selected within the last five years, while much of the Cubs' success in 2015 was due to recent first-round selections Kris Bryant, Addison Russell (acquired from Oakland in exchange for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel in 2014), and Kyle Schwarber.