MLB’s labour strife should not be ignored
It didn’t take long for executive director Tony Clark and the Players Association to deny there was ever the threat of a player boycott of spring training due to the slow pace of free agency.
Many baseball observers had taken it as fact when agent Brodie Van Wagenen suggested via Twitter that players not report to training camps, that it may be an official union stance. It was short-term panic. Camps are now about a week away; you can book it.
But simply because baseball will proceed as scheduled does not mean there are not significant issues the Players Association would like to see addressed. On the heels of the last basic agreement in 2016, it seemed both sides were gaining.
But less than two years in, it has become clear the 30 franchises and the best legal minds money can buy have figured out ways for teams to wear the contract better. The labour deal does not expire until 2021, but both sides are talking about reopening certain aspects of it. It needs to be done. For instance, MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred are pushing hard to implement ways to speed up the pace of play and are willing to impose a pitch-clock and limit mound visits unilaterally if the players don’t vote for change. Meanwhile, the union also does not want to wait another four seasons before trying to correct parts of the agreement in which they were outflanked by ownership.
One area of manipulation of the CBA the union has long despised, but now on the back burner because other issues have taken priority, is individual service time. Clark acknowledged as much during his spring tour last year in Dunedin, but said it was something they were going to monitor.
Service time to qualify for free agency and arbitration was agreed upon way back when players started getting a choice in the mid 1970s. The qualifying numbers were that after six full seasons in the majors, a player was eligible for free agency, and after three full seasons a player could file for salary arbitration.
But some players only have partial seasons. The CBA states that a full season is reached with the accumulation of 172 days of major-league time. For example, a September call-up can start with 30 days, while mid-season call-ups are credited from the day they are added until the day they are demoted. By and large it has been a fair and equitable system, but with loopholes.
Most MLB regular seasons are around 183 calendar days, with a 162-game schedule. Thus, if a player is sent to the minors for a maximum of 10-11 days in a year, he can still receive credit for a full year of service.
Team’s front offices quickly figured out that keeping a player on the farm for two weeks at the start of his rookie year, or taking the opportunity to option a young player who is struggling, or activating a player off the DL but keeping him in the minors to ostensibly play his way back into shape, can quietly earn the team an extra year of control.
That is the letter of the law, but not the spirit.
Examples? Recall in 2015, when rookie third baseman Kris Bryant tore it up in the spring, leading the Cactus League in most power categories before the Cubs sent him to Triple-A to begin the year. The season opened April 5 and Bryant was promoted April 17, which was 12 days in. As a result, he accumulated 171 days of MLB service and now becomes a free agent after 2021 instead of ’20. Then there’s Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, called up April 21 and now has two years, 167 days.
Closer to home, there are several examples of how this manipulation of service time applies to the Blue Jays:
Devon Travis. Because of his extended time on the disabled list, he possesses exactly three years of service time and could be a free agent after 2020. The Jays might suggest in March that a healthy Travis should begin the season in the minors to get his reps and atbats.
If they bring him back to the Jays April 13 or later, they will be able to keep him from free agency for an extra season. Makes sense.
Joe Biagini. Was a Rule 5 revelation in 2016. He was kept on the roster and earned a full year of service, quickly becoming eligible for free agency after 2020. When the Jays were mulling Biagini’s potential as a starter last summer, they were able to option him to Triple-A Buffalo for 22 days, making four starts. Now, he has 161 days of service and won’t clear the free agency bar until 2021.
Anthony Alford. Is among the top-100 MLB prospects on many lists and the Jays are aware of his service time.
The talented outfielder broke the hamate bone in his left wrist in Milwaukee on May 23, 2017. His time on the DL was credited as major-league service time, so when he was healthy again the Jays optioned him to the minors and did not recall him in September even though there was room.
Jays GM Ross Atkins continues to maintain that Alford is a top priority, but explained in December that carrying him on the 2018 openingday roster would be unfair to Alford because of the glare of the spotlight.
The fact is, if the Jays let him play at Triple-A Buffalo until June 19, then elevate him to the majors, they will move his free agency back to post-2024 instead of ’23. Nobody can blame MLB teams for utilizing the rules in such a way.
But it’s just another item on Tony Clark’s to-do list the next time he sits down across the table from commissioner Manfred’s negotiating team.