Feb 16, 2009 10:44 PM EST

Major League Baseball may soon permit teams to complete sign-and-trade deals involving top-tier free agents, according to a published report in the Star-Tribune.

According to the report, the MLB is looking into the possibility of an NBA-type mechanism to get certain Type A free agents on big-league rosters.

Players such as Orlando Hudson and Juan Cruz are without jobs mainly because teams are unwilling to give up a first-round draft pick to sign them.

According to the Star-Tribune, MLB might allow teams to re-sign a free agent, then trade the player to another team as a way to circumvent the compensation rules.

Via MSNBC