Rumors on LaRoche, Free Agent Signing, Cuthbert, Boras Fingered and More

A couple rumors from XM MLB Radio (XM 175)

LaRoche:

According to MLB Radio: A rumored trade persists from the West Coast pertaining to an Adam LaRoche to the Giants deal.  Apparently San Francisco is willing to trade Jonathan Sanchez and first baseman Travis Ishikawa for the much scrutinized Pittsburgh Pirate first baseman.

BTW Take:

Sanchez is quite intriguing, but for my money Ishikawa is much more tantalizing to the baseball palette.  If this is an accurate rumor, being a rumor lends to the likelihood being minimal at best, this is a deal Huntington would likely jump at.  Considering the front office denied emphatically any deal was in the works with San Francisco, I highly doubt the is much meat behind the story.  Huntington does not like to divulge anything on deals he is working on, so the denial could still be a cover-up of actual talks.  That is the only reason I have spent any time on this. 

 

Free Agent:

According to MLB Radio: The Pirates are in discussions with free agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez.

BTW Take:

Mientkiewicz is a better fit for the team.  I do not see where a 41 year old outfielder should garner more than a minor league contract.  Gonzalez is outside the "rebuilding" project free agents the Pirates have signed recently like Monroe.  I am not sure I buy this rumor either, but Dejan's comments about a free agent signing coming soon and a name we all know makes me a little nervous this is more than a rumor. 

 

Cuthbert:

Apparently the Pirates are favored to sign a Nicaraguan Prospect League player by the name of Cheslor Cuthbert.  According to the blog post, he will be available to sign come July and is drawing attention from many teams.

http://cardinalsbestnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/updates-out-of-nicaragua.html

Another link from Cardinals Best News has some information on him:

http://cardinalsbestnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/aritcles-on-jem-argenal-cheslor.html

Here is a link to a Google translation of an article about his tryout:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://impreso.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2008/10/19/deportes/87649&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=5&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCheslor%2BCuthbert%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3D77I

BTW Take:

I know nothing about this player but found it interesting nonetheless.  It looks like the legacy of Roberto Clemente is still paying dividends for the Pirates.  According to the articles, the kid can flat rake.  Big power, especially at a young age.

 

Mayor Retires:

Sean Casey has retired to take on a studio job.

BTW Take:

There are a ton of free agents retiring after seeing what the market has in store for them.  Good luck in the new gig Sean.

 

Boras Fingered:

Scott Boras and his agency have been fingered by Kirk Radomski as being part of the Kevin Brown portion of the Mitchell Report.

From ESPN.com:

Radomski's account says he sent HGH to Brown in the winter of 2003, and several days later discovered a wet overnight shipping package containing $8,000 in cash in the bushes by his house. Radomski says the FedEx account number and return address on the package were from the sports agency of Brown's California-based representative, Scott Boras.

Boras, reached by ESPN.com, says his agency had no connection to the alleged payment.

"The Federal Express package or anything like that, Kevin Brown was asked about it and denied it," Boras says. "The fact of the matter is we obviously give out our Federal Express numbers to a wide number of sources -- team officials, people, clients, that kind of thing -- because we obviously are sending out and mailing back and forth."

Radomski says government agents found FedEx labels from Brown in the raid of his Long Island home, but he was uncertain whether they were in possession of this particular label.

There is much more in the story.

BTW Take:

How sweet would it be to have Boras lose his license over this deal?

 

Delay:

One more days delay on wrapping up the free agency posts.  Once again work has got in the way of blogging.

 

Donate:

I will be walking in the MDA Stride and Ride locally.  Please sponsor me in my Stride and Ride Walk for MDA at https://www.joinmda.org/srcoralvilleia09/dharr18, every dollar is appreciated.

Game 148-149, BBD Live, Join The Hurd, Alvarez Dillema

Vitals:

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (78-69)	Saturday: RHP Adam Wainwright (9-3, 2.85 ERA) Sunday: RHP Brad Thompson (5-2, 4.61 ERA)
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (60-86)	Saturday: RHP Jeff Karstens (2-5, 4.46 ERA) Sunday: RHP Ian Snell (6-11, 5.54 ERA)
Game Time	Saturday 7:05 Sunday 1:35
XM	XM 189
TV	Sat: FSN Sun: None

 

BDD Live:

Eric SanInocencio has Phil Hughes and Orestes Destrade joining him on this weeks edition of Baseball Digest Daily Live.  Join him today at 12:00 PM ET at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballdigestdaily to listen to the live broadcast or use the player found on the right hand side of BTW under the links section.

Join The Hurd:

Rick Hurd, at the Contra Costa Times, has a couple good reads on Boras.  The first is entitled  "Great concept: Selig bans Boras from MLB" and the second is an article on a call he received from Boras on Scott Boras' attempt to change his mind called "Hurd: Greed is just part of game"

BTW Take:

I couldn't agree with Hurd more.  It would be great to hear the words from Selig, "In the best interest of baseball, Scott Boras has been decertified."

Alvarez Dilemma:

A few things to consider when viewing the possible outcomes of the grievance filed by the MLBPA against the Commissioners Office:

1. The players union does not represent Alvarez in the grievance.
2. The grievance is filed on the unilateral extension made by the Commissioners Office of the deadline.
3. The Arbitrator can only rule on issues between the MLBPA and MLB, not minor league contracts. 
4. The Arbitrator process was put in place to prevent against lawsuits between the MLBPA and MLB when discrepancies may occur over the collective bargaining agreement.
5. Alvarez is not represented in the hearings as a "plaintiff".
6. Arbitrators rule based on precedent.
7. Arbitrators do not have jurisdiction over Minor League Players, the category Alvarez falls under based on his acceptance.

How can this turn out?  

From my understanding of reading more on this subject than I ever dreamed of reading, this is how I see things working out.

If the Arbitrator rules in favor of the union, the Alvarez contract is not voided.  The finding will only allow the MLBPA the right to negotiate with the Commissioners Office on certain articles in the CBA or potentially void the CBA in a worse case scenario.

A decision in favor of the MLBPA will likely open the door for Boras to file a suit on Alvarez's behalf against MLB to void the Minor League contract.  Boras has fought for years to allow amateur free agency and this will be another step towards that end.  Boras has a dream of dissolving the entire draft format.

If, through a lawsuit, the contract is voided, Alvarez will not be a free agent but eligible for the draft again in 2009.  Likely Boras will have him hold out until the 2010 draft to have him declared a free agent since he would no longer be eligible for the draft.  College seniors have until the following draft to sign contracts.  As a drafted college player, even if Alvarez does not return to college, he would have to enter the 2009 draft before he could be declared as a free agent following the same signing deadline as a college senior.

There is another possibility that Alvarez does not enter the draft and signs a contract with an independent league team after the 2009 draft, making him a free agent sooner.

The key thing is Boras must have the contract voided for any of the above to work, Alvarez is classified on the Restricted List as part of the Pirates.  Boras must get the contract voided or risk Alvarez never playing professional baseball outside of Independent Leagues or overseas as long as he is controlled by the Pirates. 

Don't rule out Alvarez playing overseas until his Minor League deal expires with the Pirates if Boras does not get the contract voided.

MLB will likely argue that the MLBPA granting an extension for one draftee extends the deadline for all draftees in essence granting the Commissioners Office permission to extend the deadline unilaterally.

Basically, even after the hearings are done and the Arbitrator passes judgement, the matter still will not end unless MLB wins the grievance proceedings.  Even then, I am sure Boras will try everything possible to still get the contract voided.  I don't expect to see Alvarez in the Pirates system until spring at the earliest, if at all, because I don't see MLB winning the grievance.

This will be a long winter with Alvarez and the Pirates in the news regularly. 

 

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Game 141 and 142, Where's the Blame?

Vitals Game 141:

PITTSBURGH PIRATES (60-80)	LHP Paul Maholm (8-8, 3.81 ERA)
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (60-80)	RHP Matt Cain (8-11, 3.69 ERA)
Game Time	9:05 EDT
XM	XM 186
TV	None

Vitals Game 142:

PITTSBURGH PIRATES (60-80)	RHP Jeff Karstens (2-4, 3.62 ERA)
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (60-80)	LHP Jonathan Sanchez (8-10, 4.50 ERA)
Game Time	4:05 EDT
XM	XM 186
TV	None

Where's the Blame?:

So far nearly every party has been blamed in the Alvarez fiasco.  Except one.

For someone who received so much praise for making the Alvarez signing happen, Bob Nutting has been totally invisible since the grievance was filed. 

If he really had so much to do with the original agreement with Alvarez.  Why is he so quiet now?

Nutting saw how McClatchy was hailed as the Pirates savior for keeping baseball in Pittsburgh, landing the cash cow of PNC Park, scoring two All-Star Games.  Nutting saw signing Alvarez, with Boras as his agent advisor, as his ticket to PR gold.  The one thing he could get credit for that would keep him in the good graces of his customers for at least a few years until he could find another good PR stunt to keep them coming back.

Needless to say, I am still not sold that Nutting is a changed man.  Good businessmen do not change unless it means a profit for his business, even then they only feign change for the sake of a dollar.

BTW Note:

Not that I have posted in a couple days, but it will be at least Monday before I have a chance to do a real post again.  I just wanted to get a quick thought down and the Game Vitals for the weekend.

Also, I'll be in Pittsburgh Sept 16th-22nd for my sister's wedding.  Hopefully I will get to take my family to a game or two while in town.  If I do make it to a game, I'll post where we are sitting if anyone wants to come over and say hi.

 

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Game 137, Boras Costs Money

Vitals:

PITTSBURGH PIRATES (57-79)	RHP IAN SNELL (5-10, 5.77 ERA)
CINCINNATI REDS (61-76)	RHP AARON HARANG (4-14, 5.27 ERA)
Game Time	7:10 EDT
XM	XM 189
TV	FSN

 

Wednesday at Cincinnati 7:10 RHP Ross Ohlendorf (PIRATES DEBUT) vs. RHP Edinson Volquez (16-5, 3.04 ERA) FSNP
Thursday at Cincinnati 12:35 LHP Tom Gorzelanny (6-9, 6.61 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Fogg (2-7, 7.29 ERA) NO TV

Boras Costs Money:

Simple question here.  When will draftees quit using Boras as their advisor? 

Think about it.  In Pedro Alvarez's case, he conceivably could have been in Pittsburgh sometime in 2009 IF he signed after the draft.  Rather than getting into the minors and playing as quickly as possible, he spent the summer waiting for the deadline. 

Now, rather than being arbitration eligible as soon as 2012, now the earliest he will see arbitration is 2013. 

For what he has held out for it has cost him more in the future.  He could have been entering his free agent year in 2015, now he waits until 2016 or later.  This year it would cost him a $20M contract and who knows how much that will be by 2016.  Add in being another year older and taking a year away from his career, a million now means three or more times as much six years down the road. 

Boras is potentially costing his clients a year of time and millions of dollars just so he can squeeze out a few extra pennies now in guaranteed money.

An established player it makes all the sense in the world to have the guy who can get you the big money.  Someone new to pro ball needs to play and work his way up ASAP to get to the really big payday of free agency.

 

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Poor Bob Webb Blamed Again, Alvarez, Boras And The Bucs

Poor Bob Webb Blamed Again:

Apparently Brewer's manager Ned Yost has pulled Ben Sheets' groin in protest to CC Sabathia not being credited with a no-hitter against the Pirates Sunday.  Nost, err, Yost apparently is blaming Bob Webb, Pirates official score keeper, for Yost's pulling of Sheets' groin.

"I started to notice it after the fourth," Yost said. "It wasn't getting tighter, but it was there a little bit."

Yost described it as "very, very slight" tightness.

"I'm not taking a chance of him pulling it," he said.

"He's one of our top pitchers," Yost said. "Do you wanna take a chance of losing him? I don't. I take no chances with starting pitchers this time of year."

Yost has always been considered a players manager.

BTW Take:

Ok, that is my poorest attempt at a Deadspin style post.  Ironically, all the above quotes, taken completely out of context, are from the linked ESPN.com story on Ben Sheets'  tight groin.

 

Alvarez, Boras And The Bucs:

The basic rundown of what has happened:

• Alvarez agreed with the Pirates somewhere around midnight. 
• The Pirates submit the acceptance. 
• Boras was not involved in the acceptance. 
• Boras cries foul to the MLBPA. 
• The MLBPA files a grievance against the Commissioner's office for violating the CBA. 
• The Royals get dragged in and their first round selection Eric Hosmer is pulled from his minor league team until after an arbitrator hears the case from the MLBPA.

We all know the sketchy details, but few know what the times were and if there was an extension.  The Pirates admit the acceptance was submitted sometime after midnight but the acceptance happened before midnight.

The hearing is September 10th.  A likely ruling may not happen until as late as after the World Series. 

The whole thing is sad.  And there is more blame to go around than the Pirates can lose games in a row.

Many point at Alvarez for allowing this to happen.  Simply by allowing his "advisor" to go to the MLBPA.  Although, I have a feeling Alvarez had very little to do with Boras crying foul.  Boras was likely on the phone as soon as he heard word of the acceptance.

Some point blame at Boras for causing such a stir when his clients are in jeopardy of losing $12+ million between the two of them.

Some place blame on the Pirates front office for allowing things to get down to the deadline.

Some blame the Commissioner's Office for blatant disregard of the CBA.

Some even blame the MLBPA for filing a grievance for player's they don't represent, although they are actually filing against the extension rather than the validity of the contracts.  If the extension is ruled a violation, the contracts could be voided.

In the end, the evil genius Scott Boras could win.  For years he has attempted to gain free agency for draft picks not signed.  He has found countless loopholes that have earned his clients millions and in turn has made him a power hungry and very rich man.  In turn, he has many clientele, past and present, that have some ties to him in the MLBPA.

Boras is playing the MLBPA against the Commissioner's Office in an attempt to line his own pockets.  Unfortunately for Hosmer and Alvarez, they are merely pawns in Boras' power trip.

One group I find curiously unnamed in the blame game is the NCAA.  What is the difference between a football player having contact with an agent and a baseball player having an agent as an advisor?  Alvarez could have returned to college with no questions asked if he did not agree to a contract.  Yet this "advisor" will get his percentage of the pie from Alvarez's contract without being his agent?

The NCAA should not allow this dog and pony show to happen.  If a player has an advisor, that is the same as having an agent and their eligibility should be terminated immediately.

Boras is a weasel, but a weasel that knows every loophole and every trick.  I doubt he goes through this for his clients good.  He goes through this for some sick demented pleasure he finds in making league and team brass squirm.  Oh and to line his own pockets.

What could the arbitrators ruling be?  Likely they will find in favor of the MLBPA.  Likely MLB will change a rule.  Likely the arbitrator will not void the contracts, they have no jurisdiction over minor league contracts only MLB and MLBPA issues.

What happens next is where it gets interesting.  Since the MLBPA can not represent Alvarez without an MLB contract, Boras will have one more card up his sleeve.  I would be willing to bet Boras will take on MLB with some frivolous lawsuit in an attempt to have a court rule his clients, err, advisees  deemed free agents.  Many believe Alvarez could get a deal around $20M on an open market.

I don't think this will go away for a long long time.  Don't get your hopes up on the September 10th date, nor when a ruling is announced.  Boras is gunning for an open market, and he won't stop until he gets his power trip filled.

 

 

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Statement From Frank Coonelly On Alvarez Issue

STATEMENT FROM FRANK COONELLY, PIRATES PRESIDENT, ON THE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER'S PLACEMENT OF PEDRO ALVAREZ ON THE RESTRICTED LIST

At the Pirates' request, the Office of the Commissioner today placed Pedro Alvarez on Major League Baseball's Restricted List. The Pirates were forced to request that Pedro be placed on the Restricted List because we were informed by his agent, Scott Boras, that Pedro will not sign the contract to which he agreed on August 15. Boras further informed us that Pedro will not report to the Club unless we renegotiate his contract and agree to pay him more than the $6 million signing bonus to which he agreed.

The Major League Rules provide that a player who refuses to sign a Uniform Player Contract to which he has agreed and report to the signing Club shall, upon a report of the signing Club, be placed on the Restricted List until he signs a contract reflecting the terms to which he has agreed. Such a player may not sign a contract with or play for any other Club. While demanding that we renegotiate his contract and pay Pedro more than the $6 million signing bonus to which Pedro agreed, Mr. Boras has contended that the contract we reached with Pedro was consummated after the August 15 deadline. This claim was not raised on the evening of the 15th when we informed Mr. Boras that Major League Baseball had confirmed that the contract was submitted in a timely fashion. Mr. Boras asserted this claim several days later, after all of the draft signings had become publicized.

The Pirates are confident that the contract reached with Pedro Alvarez was agreed to and submitted to Major League Baseball in a timely fashion and properly accepted by Major League Baseball. In fact, the contract between the Kansas City Royals and Eric Hosmer, another Boras client, was submitted to the Office of the Commissioner after our contract with Pedro was submitted. Mr. Boras is apparently satisfied with the $6 million bonus that he secured for Mr. Hosmer and has not challenged the validity of that contract. Mr. Boras has been informed that if he pursues a claim that our contract with Pedro was not timely he puts Eric Hosmer's contract with Kansas City in jeopardy.

The Pirates made several attempts to commence negotiations immediately following the draft and were willing and ready to agree to pay Pedro a $6 million signing bonus from the very outset. Predictably, however, Mr. Boras refused to engage in any negotiations at all until shortly before the August 15 deadline and even then an agreement was reached only after Pedro took control of the negotiations.

Regrettably, we are not surprised that Mr. Boras would attempt to raise a meritless legal claim in an effort to compel us to renegotiate Pedro's contract to one more to his liking. We are, however, disappointed that Pedro would allow his agent to pursue this claim on his behalf. Pedro showed tremendous fortitude and independent thinking when he agreed to his contract on August 15.

The Office of the Commissioner has assured us that we have a valid contract with Pedro and that it will vigorously defend any claim to the contrary. Despite our disappointment, we continue to believe in Pedro Alvarez the person and the baseball player and remain excited to add Pedro to our system. We will sit down with Pedro and his family as soon as Mr. Boras' claim is rejected to chart a new and much more productive start to Pedro's career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.