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Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant voiced the frustrations of many MLB fans when he criticized the ongoing trend of service time manipulation by teams with the game’s top prospects.
The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma shared Bryant’s thoughts about the practice:
“It’s awful. So awful. It’s going to happen this year and it happens every year. I could understand it if you go out and have a rough spring training where you don’t look ready. But there’s certain people who put the time and the effort into the offseason so that they do show up to spring training and they prove that they’re ready to go. I feel like you should be rewarded for that.”
Bryant added that the custom is within the rules under the collective bargaining agreement but that it’s tantamount to exploiting a “loophole.”
Bryant made his MLB debut April 17, 2015, in the Cubs’ ninth game of the season. He almost certainly would’ve made Chicago’s Opening Day roster if the team hadn’t been focused on preserving an extra year of team control down the line.
Bryant is far from the only player who experienced that, though.
Gleyber Torres and Ronald Acuna Jr. didn’t arrive in MLB until April 22 and 25, respectively, during the 2018 season despite being more than ready on Opening Day. Torres finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting, and Acuna was the National League Rookie of the Year.
This year, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the most obvious example.
The 19-year-old third baseman hit .381 with 20 home runs and 78 RBI for the Toronto Blue Jays‘ rookie league, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2018. Despite Guerrero’s success at the plate, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told reporters earlier this month that Brandon Drury will likely open as the starter at the hot corner.
Likewise, Eloy Jimenez slugged .577 with a .384 on-base percentage in 108 Double-A and Triple-A games for Chicago White Sox affiliates in 2018. He wrote a piece for the Players’ Tribune in August to say he was ready for the jump to the majors. Jimenez, however, will almost certainly start 2019 with the Charlotte Knights, the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate.
Teams have a clear incentive to maintain the status quo. Bryant is in his second year of arbitration and won’t hit the open market until 2022. The two-time All-Star would’ve been a free agent in 2021 if the Cubs had him on their MLB roster to open 2015.
That additional year has value, and it’s hard to imagine general managers and team owners changing their tune unless the matter is addressed during the next round of CBA negotiations.