Undisclosed Draft picks and a player to be named later

Factual Questions
1

Today the Detroit Lions traded G Brendan Stai to Washington for an undisclosed draft pick. I know my sports pretty well, but why is it undisclosed? Have they not decided which pick? Are they just not telling us?

Along the same lines, I’ve always wondered about the “player to be named later” that shows up in trades from time to time. Who gets to decide who the player is? what are the guidelines for selecting the player? I there a time limit which the identity of the player must be decided by?

My sanity depends on your responses…

2

An undisclosed draft pick we’ll know the answer at the next draft.

3

Well, while we wait for BobT to show up, my quick answers are that

  1. they’re not telling us but they know which one it is (as opposed, I think, to a conditional draft pick, where which pick they get depends on other factors like how the player traded performs or whatnot) and that
  2. if I remember correctly, usually the way a “player to be named later” works is something like the team getting the player gets to pick him from a list of players agreed upon at the time of the trade.

Of course, I have no cite for this, and I could be wrong, but I think I’m not.

4

An undisclosed draft pick probably means either the Lions and/or Redskins would be embarassed that they could only get/would only give a 6th-round pick for Stai, so they aren’t saying for mutual benefit.

The PTBNL is often a device to allow the trading of an injured player (technically, players on the DL can’t be traded). It’s also used when a team hasn’t had a chance to scout another team’s minor league system thoroughly, or they can’t agree on exactly who to include in a trade. In that case, the teams usually agree on a short list of players that the receiving team can select from, and the trade is completed when the other team decides.

5

Possibly the most bizarre example of a “player to be named later” deal was when catcherHarry Chiti was traded for himself. The 1962 Mets sent him to the Indians in exchange for a player to be named later. The Indians kept him a short time, were unimpressed, and offered him back to the Mets as the player to be named. The Mets accepted, sealing poor Chiti’s place in baseball history.

6

Wow, Some damn good answers in(by my clock) under 20 minutes. thanks all. keep 'em coming!