Scott Boras wants a panel of experts to decide when a prospect is ready
Baseball super-agent Scott Boras has never been shy about sharing his opinion. This season has been no different.
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Boras has been quite vocal about the Chicago Cubs using service time manipulation as the reason third baseman Kris Bryant would begin the season in the minors. Under the current system, the Cubs needed to keep Bryant in the minors for 12 days in order to gain an extra year of control on him in the future.
That’s precisely what happened. Now that Bryant is up, Boras is hoping his case while inspire change in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.
Not surprisingly, Boras has some ideas on how to improve the current system, according to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago.
“For example, I would say that the union or somebody may come in and say that they’ve made a claim that this player is major-league ready,” Boras said. “And that to place him in the minor leagues would not be appropriate from a skills standpoint. And then all of a sudden, it’s subject to review by a panel of former managers or baseball experts.”
The Cubs needed Bryant to miss 12 days from the major-league calendar, and that’s exactly how long it took before Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect got promoted. Boras would limit the board’s scope to high-profile decisions coming out of spring training (and not roster churn throughout the season).
“It’s objective in the sense that they’re neutral,” Boras said. “The only way subjective turns objective is that you’ve got the best-known experts who are going to make an evaluation of what they do.”
Boras explained that this scenario would be different than the current grievance procedure. Currently, an arbitrator would rule on the case. Boras’ main objection to that scenario is that an arbitrator is “not a talent expert.”
Whether employing a group of “experts” will actually improve the situation is up for debate. Boras is correct in saying an arbitrator is not a “talent expert.” In that sense, having people who are more knowledgeable about the game making the decision sounds like a better strategy.
At the same time, just because you played the game doesn’t make you more qualified to sit in this position. The former managers or players picked to serve on this panel would have to prove they were still actively involved in watching games. You don’t want people serving on the panel based on their name, you want them to be knowledgeable.
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The term “baseball experts” is fairly open-ended, so Boras would have to elaborate here if this were ever something the league considered. Is he talking about writers? Baseball historians? This isn’t a difficult question to answer, but, again, you want to make sure the right people are a part of this decision.
It’s an interesting idea, though it’s unclear whether it would actually improve the current situation.
As far as Bryant is concerned, Boras says he’s not sure whether the union will file a grievance.
“I’m not involved in a grievance decision,” Boras said. “I don’t go to the union and say: ‘You should file a grievance.’ That’s their decision.”
Boras may not have the power to officially file a grievance, but he does have some influence around the game. His idea is far from perfect, but it’s at least an alternative to the current system.
The current CBA is set to expire in 2016, and it’s clear that service time manipulation will be a major issue in negotiations. Boras’ idea is likely the first of many that will attempt to fix this situation.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
