NEW YORK — Pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel, the last two top free agents on the market, can sign starting Monday without their new teams having to forfeit amateur draft picks as compensation.

Both turned down $17.9 million qualifying offers in November, Keuchel from Houston and Kimbrel from the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

Under baseball's labour contract, compensation is eliminated for free agents who sign starting on the day the amateur draft begins.

Before Monday, a new team signing either player would have lost at least one draft pick and possibly two, and some teams would have lost international signing bonus allocation. The exact penalty is tied to whether a team paid luxury tax last year, and whether it paid or received revenue-sharing money.

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