Service time earned towards free agency was collectively bargained between the players union and MLB. A contract is a contract; a deal is a deal.
Back in May, Kris Bryant's agent groused about the Cubs "holding back" his star player from the major leagues. But it standard procedure of front offices to balance promoting rookies to the major league roster vs. how many "years of control" do they have with the player. Control means cost control.
But Bryant's agent, the boisterous Scott Boras, comes to the annual Winter Meetings with a chip on his shoulder. He again cries foul on how the Cubs treated his star client.
Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said the club has been aware of the Major League Baseball Players Association action since May. “Nothing’s really changed since then,” Hoyer said. “The fact that the news came
out today doesn’t really change anything about where we are. Obviously,
we feel like we were in the right, but I’m not going to comment on the
case or open this back up.”
“It was filed in May – and to the best of my knowledge – it sits in
the same place it has been,” Hoyer said. “It’s something we’ve known
about for a long time. And it certainly doesn’t change our impression of
the player or his representation at all. We’ve got a great relationship with Kris. We’ve got a great relationship with Scott.”
The Yahoo! Sports report also identified Philadelphia Phillies third baseman
Maikel Franco as involved in the grievance process. Franco (170) and
Bryant (171) finished just short of the 172 days needed for a full year
of service, closing their free-agent windows until after the 2021
season.
Setting service-time clocks for elite young players is essentially
viewed as standard operating procedure within front offices and Bryant
became a billboard for the issue in spring training.
Bryant – the second overall pick in the 2013 draft – began this year
as Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect after hitting .325 with 43 homers
and 110 RBI in 2014.
“I think Kris proved his point that he didn’t need any further
minor-league (experience),” Boras said during last month’s GM meetings
in South Florida. “Unless you can argue the seven games of Triple-A
baseball dramatically allowed him to improve, I think he proved his
point that he’s an All-Star player and a huge part of a franchise. Our point was that in the ethic of the game, I think it’s good for
Kris – and for the fans and everyone (else) – that they understand that
the rules of the game often allow teams to do things that are unrelated
to the best interests of the team or the true talent evaluation of the
player," Boras said.
He added, “It’s perfectly appropriate under the rules for clubs to say that
they can do that. I just think you (should) have (better rules), a
better ethic to it. Because in the end, we want to make sure our fans
know the best players are always playing in the big leagues all the
time.”
But it is part of the rules and the teams have a right to use the rules to their benefit. It is not that Bryant will be starving or not have his own free agency payday down the road. It is not an ethical issue but a contractual one.
And with the current CBA expiring after next season, this topic will be brought up by the players' agents as something that needs to be changed. The owners will fight back, knowing that the "sports bubble" of cable and network television money may soon burst by all the young cable-cutters who are finding entertainment on other technology platforms.
