Farm System

[Kid]

Is "locking up" minor leaguers even a thing? Why is this a good idea?

 

It is increasingly becoming a thing and it basically is a sharing of the risk. The player gets less than if he had signed after proving himself at the MLB level.

 

However, I wasn't talking about necessarily locking up Baez now.  My point was more with respect to what the expectations are in terms of whether they'll be able to sign him long-term after a year or 2 in the majors, as was done with Rizzo and Castro.  Those deals will usually cover at least the first year of free agency.