Scott Boras and MLB
January 2nd, 2013 by terrybenishJeff Passan has a very interesting if dry piece from last night in which he examines the impact on teams signing free agents and subsequent compensation back to that player’s team. The new draft rules that the MLBPA was fully participant in gutted the previous draft for North American players. That pool of money that did go to amateurs, was held out as bait for MLBPA to bite on and they did. Slotted money, no draft and follow. Link below
Somewhere back in posts from last fall I pointed you to a piece that Geoff Baker of the Times describing the zoo that is the major league sponsored baseball academies located in the Dominican and Venezuela and Columbia. The players are signed when they are sixteen and paid a minimal salary unless they are obviously great such as Felix. Access to PEDs is very easy. Historically lots of slip ups on dates of birth and names. Yet MLB plunges ahead and invests in facilities, people and players and presumbably pharmacists.
Now it seems MLB has made war on Scott Boras and war on free agents. Teams seem to be colluding once again to not sign some remaining players of Boras while saying they do not want to give up draft picks. The whole thing seems to have come full circle again, as if the reserve claus is once again in effect. If a guy has been in the major leagues past six years or even longer and his contract is up, should he not be able to go anywhere without the original team getting compensated? Major league baseball is more like a singular entity from a labor perspective and the thirty teams walk in lock step to the instructions given by MLB. Technical term when there is a labor market monopoly is monopsony.
Players obtained their freedom via Marvin Miller and although the subsequent period has seen profits and asset values soar, the thirty ownerships and Bud Selig are angry they have to pay players so much and they have some freedom of movement. That the players are making good money, the teams are making so much more.
The Mariners are “linked” to an Ethier trade with the Dodgers. I just can’t imagine the leverage involved in that deal. He is thirty one a good but not great hitter, got some juice. Corner guy. What is it going to cost? Seager could play second there and be a star, couple of young starters. The leverage is all wrong. It might be panic time or could be more three card monty until pitchers and catchers report and then we forget.
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