Friday, November 19, is the deadline for Major League Baseball teams to finalize their 40 Man Rosters leading up to the Baseball Winter Meetings and the Rule 5 Draft.  Many players will be “protected” on their organization’s 40 Man Roster in the final hour leading up to the deadline, as a preventative measure, so that other teams will not be able to pry away someone who has Major League potential.

My eye is on Dynasty Athlete Representation client Clint Robinson, who is a part of the Kansas City Royals‘ deep and talented farm system.  Robinson accomplished the following this past year, as a member of the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals:

• Triple Crown – The third player in Texas League history to hit for the Triple Crown (.335 AVG, 29 HR, and 98 RBI).
• Led the Double-A Texas League in doubles (41), total bases (298), slugging (.625), and on-base-plus-slugging (1.035).  2nd in the league in hits (160) and runs (90).
• Texas League Player of the Week three times and Texas League Player of the Month twice.
• Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star.
• Northwest Arkansas Naturals Player of the Year.
• Northwest Arkansas Naturals Unsung Hero in 2010.
• Broke the Northwest Arkansas Naturals hitting streak after hitting safely in 20 consecutive games.

Many people have correctly pointed out to me that in the history of the Rule 5 Draft very few first-basemen have been selected, and while I always like to take history into account, how many of those Rule 5 eligible first-basemen just came off of a Triple Crown year?  And how many of them have the character of Clint Robinson, a guy who won the organization’s Mike Sweeney Award, which is given to the player that best represents the Royals organization on and off the field?  Maybe teams will take a pass on Robinson in the Rule 5 Draft, but do the Royals really want to wait and see?

I talk to Clint almost every single day, and he continues to reinforce the fact that he loves the Kansas City Royals organization and hopes to stay there.  He continues to say that to me even though he understands that other very talented first-basemen exist within the organization (Billy Butler, Kila Ka’aihue, Eric Hosmer).

Royals Assistant General Manager, J.J. Picollo, recently stated, “You try to play the guessing game a little bit,” in reference to choosing who to protect leading up to the November 19 deadline.  Their General Manager, Dayton Moore, said that he anticipates adding 3-5 players to the 40 Man prior to the deadline.  All of us at the Dynasty family are waiting with anticipation.  But whether Robinson is added to the 40 Man roster or not, he will be ready to play in 2011.

November 19 – 40 Man Roster Deadline from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Collective bargaining agreements are as worthless as the paper they are printed on if they are not adhered to by both negotiating parties. If Pedro Alvarez is given 45 minutes, then next year’s 2nd pick will try to get 90 minutes. Where does it end?

Before I expand on my two-sentences that were featured in Foley’s blog, lets get into some background behind the whole Alvarez situation.  Pedro Alvarez was selected #2 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  A day before the signing deadline, Zak Kurtz, pointed out that Boras was looking for $7 million from the Pirates and that the club would probably not pay that kind of money.  The deadline came, and Pirates fans were surprised that the organization paid big money on some players, including Robbie Grossman in the sixth round ($1 million) and Pedro Alvarez, the #2 overall pick ($6 million).  But $6 million is a whole $1 million short of the $7 million demanded.  Did the deal work itself out legitimately?

Scott Boras says no and he has the MLBPA behind him.  The claim is that Alvarez refused to sign a deal with the Pirates until forty-five minutes after the signing deadline, at which time Alvarez signed for a $6 million bonus.  Additionally, rumor has it that Alvarez signed late because Boras was busy negotiating a deal for another client, Eric Hosmer, right before the deadline.  Alvarez is now on the restricted list.

A few things:

• Is anyone surprised that Scott Boras is involved in a media-hyped baseball controversy?
• Why would Boras and Alvarez sign a deal at all if they were going to be the party to go to the MLBPA to file a grievance against Major League Baseball?
• If Boras knew that the Pirates were violating MLB rules by extending the deadline, was he not an accomplice to the act by being a party of the action?  If he had knowledge of the violation, did he have a duty to say something at the time of the breach?
• If it is true that Boras was so busy negotiating Eric Hosmer’s deal that he could not focus on Pedro Alvarez getting signed on time, will this deter future first-rounders from going with Boras because they believe he already has his hands full with enough clients on his plate?

Now, on to the quote that I offered Foley for his piece.  I truly do believe that if CBAs (Collective Bargaining Agreements) are to be made in any industry, they must be followed by both parties to the agreement.  While I am currently enrolled in Labor Law, and will learn much more about CBAs in a later class session, I understand that they embody formal rules between a union and owners.  If either side breaches the agreement, there must be some sort of penalty.  In this case, I am not sold that the Pirates are entirely at fault.  Scott Boras is an MLBPA licensed agent, therefore, he represents the union in all of his actions.  Again, if he had knowledge at the time that he and the Pirates were negotiating beyond the deadline, then he and the union may be at fault as well.

In the end, I would hope to make this issue a clean wash and have all parties learn some valuable lessons.  It is great when agents/advisors do all that they can for their clients to gain an edge, as long as it is done within the confines of the rules.  This situation is way too shady.  If you intentionally break the deadline and sign a $6 million deal, do not cry foul afterward because you believe your client was undervalued, and then bring up a rules violation to the MLBPA.

Will the Pirates ever draft another Boras client?  While potential Boras clients be turned off by the fact that at least one team probably won’t be looking at acquiring them?

The Pirates Got Boras’ed from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Number-one overall pick, Tim Beckham, received a $6.15 million signing bonus.  Word is that Beckham’s bonus will be trumped by Buster Posey, who may get a whopping $7.5 million.  Posey was the fifth player taken in the draft (by the San Francisco Giants).  The aforementioned Pedro Alvarez (Boras), Eric Hosmer (Boras), and Brian Matusz were all taken earlier than Posey and remain unsigned at the moment.  After Posey, there are six players who will probably not be signed until the final minutes before the deadline (if signed at all).  They are Yonder Alonso, Aaron Crow, Justin Smoak, Josh Fields (Boras), Allan Dykstra (Boras), and Gerrit Cole (Boras).  I do not know what is more remarkable: the fact that Boras has five players in the first round or that five of the ten players still holding out in the first-round are Boras clients.

Out of all of the first-round players yet to sign, only one seems to be for a reason other than the belief that he feels he deserves higher than slot figures.  Allan Dykstra has medical issues, which has delayed progress between the Padres and Boras Corp in signing the former Wake Forest first baseman.

As of writing this post, here are the bonus babies (highest signing bonuses) in the first ten rounds:

• 1st round (pick 1) – Tim Beckham – $6.15 million (Rays)
• Supplemental 1st (pick 1) – Shooter Hunt – $1.08 million (Twins)
• 2nd round (pick 9) – Destin Hood – $1.1 million (Nationals)
• 3rd round TIE (pick 5) – Roger Kieschnick – $525k (Giants) and (pick 10) – Danny Espinosa (Nationals)
• Supplemental 3rd (pick 1) – Ross Seaton – $700k (Astros)
• 4th round TIE (pick 1) – Ty Morrison – $500k (Rays) and (pick 19) – Matt Cerda (Cubs)
• 5th round (pick 9) – Adrian Nieto – $376k (Nationals)
• 6th round (pick 28) – Brett Marshall – $800k (Yankees)
• 7th round (pick 29) – Tim Fedroff – $725k (Indians)
• 8th round (pick 4) – Bobby Bundy – $600k (Orioles)
• 9th round (pick 15) – Steven Caseres – $250k (Dodgers)
• 10th round (pick 12) – Rashun Dixon – $600k (Athletics)

For a team with a small payroll, the Nationals seem to be spending quite a bit of money on their early draft picks.  Other notes:

• Out of 16 Supplemental 1st round picks, only one remains unsigned: Jeremy Bleich (Yankees)
• Only one player in the entire 3rd round has yet to sign: Chase Davidson (Astros)
• Every single player selected in the 8th round has signed a deal with the club that drafted him.
• The 10th round sticks out, containing ten players that have not yet signed.

For a great breakdown of the reasoning behind why certain players remain unsigned, check out this article published by BaseballAmerica.  Friday shall be an interesting day, indeed.

Friday’s MLB Draft Deadline from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

While you are watching the draft, you may be interested in following where Scott Boras clients get picked. By the way, I am still waiting for a call back from Boras Corp concerning this story. Here is part of the list of Boras Corp players that you can check off as they get picked in a new game that the entire family can enjoy.:

Pedro Alvarez, Gerrit Cole, Allan Dykstra, Jordan Danks, Jon Gaston, Alex Meyer, Brett Mooneyham, Nick Maronde, Jeremy Bleich, and some guy named Eric Hosmer, who could be the first player taken overall. My hometown newspaper put out a nice column on Hosmer’s development.

Anyway, I will be ridiculously busy from now until a couple of days after the draft, but I will do my best to check in to the site and update it as much as possible. Enjoy the draft.

It’s MLB Amateur Draft Day from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules