What’s next for Kumar Rocker after the Mets fail to sign the former Vanderbilt star?

Major League Baseball’s deadline for signing draft picks passed Sunday night, and with it the chances of right-hander Kumar Rocker, the No.10 selection, to join the New York Mets. A deal worth a $ 6 million signing bonus was scrapped after a post-draft medical examination revealed arm damage that alarmed the Mets. (Although some people at the Mets front office believe Rocker could have a successful career.) The Mets will now earn a compensatory pick in next year’s draft, No. 11 overall, and they will continue to draw criticism. from all corners of the league. for an unforced error in the way they presented their draft strategy.

Despite all the attention to the Mets’ side, a bigger question is about what next for Rocker. Under the current collective agreement, he will not be eligible to join an MLB club through any route other than the 2022 draft. (If that seems unfair, Mets owner Steven Cohen unwittingly pointed out just how massively underpaid conscripts are compared to the value they create for franchises.)

That leaves Rocker with a few options on how to spend the next 10 months. He would have ruled out a return to Vanderbilt, where he could have benefited from the NCAA’s new NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) guidelines.

So what else can Rocker do? Let’s break down the three paths.

1. Independent baseball

Rocker signing with an independent league team is the easiest option, and it’s the one with the most historical precedents. One of the best recent examples of how this works involves Luke Hochevar.

Hochevar, as Rocker, was advised by Scott Boras when the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him 40th in the 2005 draft. The long story short – and the long story involves two changes of representation, among other dramatic flair – is that Boras advised Hochevar against signing with the Dodgers, and instead guided him to the American Association’s Fort Worth Cats.

Hochevar made four starts with the Cats and was able to improve his draft status, as the Kansas City Royals selected him No.1 in 2006. Boras’ bet also paid off, as the bonus from Hochevar’s signature was richer by more than $ 500,000. than the reported offer from the Dodgers.

Boras repeated the same round of indy ball several years later with James Paxton, the 37th selection in the 2009 draft. The Toronto Blue Jays offered him less than $ 900,000 to sign, but that didn’t make it possible. close the deal. Comments made by a Toronto executive then caused Paxton to lose his Kentucky eligibility (which, as one might expect, resulted in a legal battle). Boras led Paxton to the Grand Prairie AirHogs, with whom he started four times before the 2010 draft.

Paxton slipped to the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round, but his signing bonus of $ 942,500 still exceeded the Jays’ offer.

Rocker’s situation is not directly comparable to that of Hochevar or Paxton due to the medical angle and how the landscape has changed with the slotting. Still, Rocker making a handful of appearances with the Milwaukee Milkmen or the Kansas City Monarchs before trying his hand in the draft again would appear to be the most likely outcome.

2. International baseball

A more lucrative (if perhaps impractical) option for Rocker would take him outside of the United States, likely to the Japanese professional baseball league Nippon. It might sound strange, but the trail has recently been mapped out by another Boras client: Carter Stewart.

Stewart, the eighth pick in the 2018 Draft, was offered around $ 2 million by the Atlanta Braves after a post-draft medical examination revealed a wrist condition. Rather than signing or going the more traditional independent league route, Stewart agreed to a $ 7 million contract with the Softbank Hawks. Even though the play was unconventional, it made a lot of sense on paper. (Boras, if it wasn’t obvious, is the king of exploiting conscription, an inherently anti-worker mechanism.)

Former Marlins president David Samson opened up about Kumar Rocker’s situation on Monday in Nothing Personal with David Samson. Listen below:

As well as guaranteeing Stewart more money up front, going to Japan guaranteed him to reach free agency sooner than if he had signed with the Braves or re-entered the next draft. . At this point, Stewart could sign with an MLB team without being subject to rules limiting the earning potential of young international talent. Sadly, Stewart’s career has yet to go as planned. He’s only made 29 appearances for the Hawks so far, posting a 3.34 ERA and a strike-to-walk ratio of 1.74. (It’s worth noting that Stewart won’t be 22 until November, which gives him plenty of time to turn things around.)

Rocker might not want to uproot his life and commit to playing in Japan for six years. It’s an option, however, and it stands to reason that someone else will one day follow Stewart’s path.

3. No baseball

As our own Dayn Perry once noted, spring is “the season to figure out what it takes to get out of it and do a little less than that.” How is this relevant to Rocker’s situation? Well, he could theoretically give up playing with an independent or international team.

In this scenario, Rocker would keep himself in shape while saving his body the cost of starting once every five days. He would then run several pre-draft practice sessions, allowing scouts and evaluators to check in person that an intriguing prospect remains. There are a few obvious drawbacks to this approach, the most important being that it’s the only one of the three that wouldn’t earn him a salary.

Beyond that, Rocker would not have the benefit of showing what he is capable of doing in a structured game. Of course, it’s fair to wonder what a handful of indy-league starts would demonstrate given he has an extensive and prolific track record in an SEC school.

Whichever route Rocker takes, it will have major ramifications for its history, next year’s draft and the picks made by future rookies who find themselves in a similar situation.