What is a sandwich pick in the MLB draft?
It is a supplemental pick that takes place between rounds in the MLB draft (the picks are sandwiched between the first and second or second and third rounds). Sandwich picks are given in compensation for losing a free agents. The rules governing draft-pick forfeiture are byzantine at best but, essentially, a team that loses a free agent gets a draft pick from the player’s new team as compensation (assuming the old team is still in position to take the player to salary arbitration). The compensation pick might be the signing team’s pick, a “sandwich pick,” both, and/or a later pick. The free agent rules can lead to some bizarre results. For example, if you lose a free agent you get the signing team’s regular pick and the bonus sandwich pick; but when you sign someone else’s free agent, all you lose is your regular pick. So, if you swap your free agent for someone else’s, you both swap regular picks and then everyone nets those bonus sandwich picks. As a result, there is disincentive to
