Bob Nightengale

USA TODAY Sports

It was the opportunity Howie Kendrick awaited his entire baseball career.

For the first time, after 10 years in the big leagues, five playoff berths and one All-Star Game, Kendrick became a free agent in November.

He sat back with his family in his Scottsdale, Ariz., home and waited for the telephone to ring, with offers from coast to coast.

And waited.

And waited.

“Nothing," Kendrick told USA TODAY Sports. “I figured there would be quite a few suitors for me, and nobody was really calling. Here it is, getting close to spring training, and you keep hearing the same thing over and over.

“Nobody wanted to give up that draft pick. It was a shocker."

It wasn’t until Thursday - two weeks before major league camps open - that Kendrick finally had a team. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced they had signed Kendrick to a two-year, $20 million contract. The deal, according to a person with direct knowledge of the contract, includes two years of deferrals, paying Kendrick $5 million a year over the next four years.

It’s a huge bargain for the Dodgers, who extended Kendrick a $15.8 million qualifying offer at the end of last season that he rejected. They were the only team that could sign Kendrick without forfeiting a draft pick. Now, they bring back a guy who has produced the third-highest batting average, .293, of any second baseman since 2007, batting .295 with a .336 on-base percentage and .409 slugging percentage last year.

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And Kendrick's case might wind up as Exhibit A for the players union as to why the parameters of free agency must be changed. The union and Major League Baseball will begin negotiations this year on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Any changes will come too late for Kendrick, 32, who is none too pleased with a system that failed him, along with several other players who reached what should have been a point of great freedom in their careers only to find their options extremely limited.

“When you get to free agency, you’re supposed to be a free agent," Kendrick said. “Now, with this qualifying offer, teams are trying to decide: Do I make my major league team better or minor league system better?

“It forces teams to make a choice, and it’s hurting everybody. There are a lot of good players out there who can help teams.

“It’s such a strange market."

Kendrick is actually the fortunate one among players still on the market - he had a landing place with a familiar team looking to win now.

“I’m thankful for the Dodgers," Kendrick said, “and I’m glad I’m going back, but I just never thought free agency would be like this.

“It’s tough when you know what type of player you are, knowing you can play and help win ballgames for your team but not get any knocks on the door."

Kendrick and his agent, Larry Reynolds, discussed the risk in rejecting that $15.8 million qualifying offer in November, but it seemed unlikely the attached draft pick would destroy his market.

“I’ve never seen anything like it," said Reynolds, a 32-year veteran. “Without question, this was the most challenging free agent process that I’ve been involved in.

“The teams are placing a very high value on draft picks, and this contributed to the limited market for Howie, and it looks like some of the others are having the same challenges."’

The suppressed market is no different for center fielder Dexter Fowler, shortstop Ian Desmond and starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo, who remain free agents with two weeks until spring training. Though Desmond struggled in his final season before free agency, the non-market for this trio is ludicrous, considering their talent. Yet they each have that draft pick anchor attached, hurting their value in a free agent world we haven’t seen since the days of collusion.

It’s absurd that Kendrick and Co.'s value plummets simply because qualifying offers are attached. Yet the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t place a qualifying offer on ace David Price, simply because he wasn’t with them for the entire season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks were the only other team that expressed strong consideration in signing Kendrick, but they backed off simply because they didn’t want to surrender a second-round pick.

“Although we did have interest, we were still very cognizant of keeping our pick," D'backs GM Dave Stewart said. “It’s just tough after we’ve already given up our first pick (to sign Zack Greinke). To give up our top two picks, that would be difficult for us to do."

Come on, we’re talking about the 39th pick in the draft.

If that pick turns out to produce half the career as that of Kendrick, the D'backs will be skinny-dipping in their center-field swimming pool.

After all, most draft picks - particularly those beyond the first dozen or so - are largely a crapshoot. And the obsession over picks to the point of impacting the current major league roster has gone too far.

Just ask Octagon director of baseball Scott Pucino, who has been negotiating contracts since 1988.

He represents 34-year-old infielder Ben Zobrist, who had no qualifying offer attached to him because he was traded in July from the Oakland Athletics to the Kansas City Royals. He hit .276 with 13 homers and 56 RBI and was deluged with contract offers. He wound up signing a four-year, $56 million deal with the Chicago Cubs - $36 million more than Kendrick - after rejecting two higher offers.

Pucino also represents 29-year-old starter Gallardo, the Milwaukee Brewers’ former ace who helped lead the Texas Rangers to the playoffs, going 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA the last two months.

Gallardo, another victim of the system, is still looking for work.

“He’s probably signed by now if not for the draft pick attached to him," Pucino said. “Having a draft pick on you is such a strain. Hopefully this will be addressed in the next CBA.

“It’s a new trend. Instead of signing a free agent, teams are trying to build from within. What I don’t understand is that these guys are already proven. They’re almost a sure thing. When you draft a player, even in the first round, only a small percentage of them get to the big leagues, and staying in the big leagues is even more tougher."

Yet the way the CBA is constructed, the draft pick is more valuable than ever, particularly since it adds money to the team’s allotted draft pool.

“The draft pick has real value,” Chicago White Sox GM Rick Hahn said. “A couple of million dollars worth of pool money. … At some level, you balance the ability to improve this club vs. the long-term impact that losing a pick would have."

The trouble, too, is the increasing number of teams not even trying to win. Everyone watched how the Houston Astros lost 324 games in three years and the Chicago Cubs finished fifth in the NL Central five consecutive years. Both clubs hoarded draft picks for years, and both returned to the playoffs in 2015. The fewer teams trying to win, the fewer options for free agents.

“It’s not about one person but all of us as a whole," Kendrick said. “Hopefully when the next wave of players come up, it won’t be like that. It will be completely different."

The free agent system needs to be overhauled in the next CBA. If you don’t eliminate the qualifying offer, at least make it tougher for teams to decide whether to extend them. Just three of 54 eligible players have accepted it since the provision was implemented in the CBA four years ago. Make the qualifying offer a two-year guarantee or at least provide a player option for the second year. Establish a minimum standard in which qualifying offers can be attached to only the truly elite free agents. Stop rewarding teams for losing free agents, particularly those that have no interest in bringing back their player.

Better yet, it's time to try a novel concept.

How about when a player becomes eligible for free agency, he’s actually free?

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