Another Baseball Deadline Approaches

There was a rule change regarding the Major League Baseball draft this year that didn't get a ton of notice. Teams used to have a year from the June 1 draft to sign their choices or lose the rights to them. This year they have until next Wednesday which is creating some sweaty situations. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reports that eight of the first 12 picks, 13 first-rounders overall and 26 players between the sandwich and fifth rounds who are yet to sign deals. Some of that has to do with the inane baseball draft process which, free of a salary cap, has players picked because of signability as opposed to talent far too often. The league sets a bonus recommendation for each draft slot but teams aren't forbidden from going above it and agents certainly ask for more than the slot price. That leaves top high school pitcher Rick Porcello to the Tigers with the 27th pick because many teams are put off by the high cost of signing such an unproven commodity.

Porcello is represented by Scott Boras and was asking for $10 million and a big league contract on draft day. Boras also represents the unsigned second-overall pick Mike Moustakas, a high school infielder from California. Boras and the Royals haven't come to terms and aren't even believed to be particularly close.

On Monday, Royals scouting director Deric Ladnier said he hadn’t talked with Moustakas or anyone from Boras’ office in more than a month. Ladnier maintained confidence that something would get done.

Boras — whether it’s a negotiating ploy or not — didn’t sound so optimistic. If nothing is signed, Moustakas would go to Southern California and the Royals would receive a similar pick in next year’s draft.

“Because of the privilege I can’t talk specifically,” he said. “But I would say if you’re not well down the road now, more than likely, the athlete’s going to school.”

Why is he allowed to go to school? If a basketball player so much as speaks to an agent while he's in college they are suspended and/or banned from continuing their scholastic career. Same with football. Why are the rules different for baseball? Reynolds Sports Management, run by the brother of Harold Reynolds and agent for Harold, Torii Hunter and others, offers this on their website.

Question No. 2: I have been told by some people that it is permissible to have an advisor but not an agent.  Is this true?  If so, what is the difference between an advisor and an agent?

Answer: You are correct.  It is permissible to have an advisor (but not an agent) without jeopardizing your eligibility at an NCAA school.  Under NCAA regulations, you and your parents are permitted to receive advice from a lawyer or other individual(s) concerning a proposed professional sports contract, provided the advisor does not represent you directly in negotiations for the contract.  In this regard, it is permissible for an advisor to discuss with you the merits of a proposed contract and give you suggestions on the type of offer you should consider.  In order to maintain your eligibility at an NCAA school, however, you may not use the advisor as a link between you and the professional sports team.  Rather, you must view the advisor as an extension of your own interests and not as a source to contact a professional team.  If you use the advisor as a direct contact with a professional team, the advisor shall be considered an agent, and you will have jeopardized your eligibility at an NCAA school.  For example, an advisor may not be present during the discussions of a contract offer with a professional team or have any direct contact (e.g. in person, by telephone, e-mail, or mail) with the professional sports team on your behalf.  Finally, it is important to note that in order to maintain your eligibility at an NCAA school, if you receive assistance from an advisor, you will be required to pay that advisor at his or her normal rate for such services.

If you take a look at the above article about the Royals and Moustakas you'll see that K.C.'s scouting director says he hasn't spoken to the player or anyone from Boras' office in more than a month. That sounds an awful lot like there has been direct contact before that which would make Moustakas ineligible. I'm fairly certain that Boras is expecting a cut of that contract should Moustakas sign a deal with Kansas City which makes it even harder to understand how he is acting as an advisor and not as an agent. 

Where does the NCAA draw the line when the same guy who is your "advisor" is the most powerful agent in baseball and would be your agent if you agreed to a contract? Back when high schoolers could go directly to the NBA it was against the rules for a kid to use an "advisor" to during the draft process but go on to play for USC if it didn't work out. It doesn't make a shred of sense why the rules are different for baseball players. 

No matter how confusing the rules about eligibility might be to me Moustakas seems to be safe. If he doesn't sign he'll go to USC and get drafted again in a couple of years unless he falls off a cliff. If he does, he'll become another Matt Harrington. The seventh overall pick in 2000, Harrington turned down $4 million from the Rockies out of high school and then fired his agent and replaced him with Boras. The Padres selected him in the second round the next year but Boras told him to reject $1.2 million this time and Harrington went to play in the independent leagues. He struggled, though, and wasn't picked until the 13th round in 2002 but still didn't sign. He was drafted twice more but barely even got contract offers from the Reds and Yankees and has never pitched a game as a member of a major league organization.

Comments

[Big Time]

Great post. Do you think that there is a racist explanation for the apparent double standard applied to baseball kids versus hoops and football? Vast majority of the hoops/football kids are black, baseball not so much.

[The Feed]

It certainly crossed my mind that the powers that be consider Scott Boras to be more reputable and, therefore, less of a risk to associate with than someone who might approach a black basketball player at Lincoln or Crenshaw High. I don't have any evidence of it though and am wary to play the race card without it.

[SportsAgentBlog.com]

Good read. I actually touched on this year's signing bonus situation 3 times already, and plan to make a few most posts as the deadline approaches and passes.

You bring up an interesting point with the advisor/agent relationship, which I have also discussed at length on my blog. It is a very fine line, and one that is tough to prosecute. Boras can talk to teams about players, but cannot represent them. Basically, he can find out what type of money that a player should expect, but the team is giving that information away to him not because he is that player's agent, per say, but because they voluntarily chose to do so.

A player cannot ask Boras to contact a team in the effort to boost his value, but if Boras chooses to act on his own behalf and figure out the situation, there is no rule against it. No papers have been signed, and he is merely acting as an advisor. Is it fair? That's a different thing altogether.

[The Feed]

Thanks for the insight.

Does Boras get a cut of whatever contract is signed? I have some experience with theatrical agents and know that if you become someone's agent after they've signed a contract for something, which by the letter of the law is what Boras would be doing, you aren't entitled to a cut of the money.

That whole Boras can ask but can't be asked to ask and the team can tell because they volunteer the information is quite the little dance. And the music for that dance sounds even more like one that would get a football or basketball player declared ineligible. You could argue that the baseball player isn't receiving any "illegal benefits" a la Reggie Bush and his parents, but isn't there a tangible value to even hearing advice from Boras or the Hendricks brothers?

[SportsAgentBlog.com]

There is definitely a value to having advice, which is why players take on advisors in the first place. All along, the advisor is merely "advising" the player what bonus money sounds right and which offers should be dropped. As I said, it is rather touchy.

Boras should still get a cut of the signing bonus, because once his client determines that he will sign, eligibility will no longer matter, and he will sign a standard representation agreement with the agent. If the player waits to sign until after the bonus is received, the player has no debt to the advisor who is now an agent.

[the kid]

The guy who brought up the racist issue must be black! Go pick some cotton you a hole!

[Big Time]

Mr. The Kid: My race is as irrelevant to my comment as you are to the world. While I hesitate to respond to your comment, it gives me some pleasure to know that it might cause you to lose sleep at night knowing that one of your fellow white folks actually posted that comment, so sorry to disappoint. Nice thing about all of these things available on the Internet is that you might be able to find a site where you can get a life. Warm regards.