By Dejan Kovacevic | 1:35 p.m. Wednesday
The Major League Baseball Players Assocation today will file a grievance against the commissioner's office regarding the Pirates' signing of first-round draft pick Pedro Alvarez, according to two sources.
The union's contention is that Alvarez agreed to his contract after the Aug. 15 midnight deadline.
UPDATE 1:43 p.m.: The Pirates react by issuing a statement. This is it in full:
"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 Aug. 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."
1:54 p.m.: So, to try put this into one pile ...
The players' union will grieve the notion that Pedro Alvarez's contract was agreed upon before the midnight Aug. 15 deadline, as required by Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement. That has prompted his agent, Scott Boras, to seek a revisitation of the agreement, which was a $6 million signing bonus on a minor league contract, payable over two years.
According to the Pirates, the agreement was reached in a "timely" manner, but the team's statement makes no specific reference to midnight. It also said that the commissioner's office approved of the timing of the deal, but there is no indication that the union did. (One of my sources assures me that the union did not.)
Obviously, all concerned did not divulge any of this until today, instead describing Alvarez's absence in vague terms such as "complications" and the like.
3:36 p.m.: Point of clarification: When that grievance is filed, it will be done against the commissioner's office, not the Pirates. Alvarez is not a major league player, obviously, so the grievance will be one of procedure. Has been clarified in the opening sentence above.
5:34 p.m.: The union issues a statement through spokesman Mike Weiner, filing the grievance:
"The Major League Baseball Players Association today filed a Grievance challenging the unilateral decision of the Commissioner's Office to extend the August 15, 2008 signing deadline for drafted players. The Association and the Commissioner's Office have agreed to expedited processing of this Grievance, with the intention of bringing the matter to hearing as early as September 10, 2008.
"In the 2006 round of collective bargaining, the Players Association agreed to establish an August 15 signing deadline for drafted players with remaining collegiate eligibility. The firm deadline was a Club bargaining demand, and agreement on it was part of a broader set of compromises by the parties related to the reserve system and the draft.
"Within hours after this year's August 15 midnight deadline passed, the Players Association learned from several sources that the Commissioner's Office had extended the deadline for negotiating and reporting signings with drafted players. This was done without notice to or consultation with the Players Association, despite a firm deadline having been established through collective bargaining. The Players Association, after discussions with the Commissioner's Office, players, agents and other parties, viewed it necessary to file a Grievance challenging this plainly unlawful unilateral act by the Commissioner's Office. The grievance was not filed on behalf of any particular player. It is the union's obligation, on behalf of all players, to defend the integrity of its collectively bargained agreements and to ensure that those agreements are respected and honored by the Clubs.
"I have read the statement issued by Frank Coonelly, President of the Pittsburgh Pirates, regarding Pedro Alvarez. Frank's statement also refers to the contract between Eric Hosmer and the Kansas City Royals. The Association, after further investigation and the processing of the Grievance, will determine what relief it will seek from the Arbitration Panel, including whether it will seek relief related to agreements accepted by the Commissioner's Office after the collectively bargained signing deadline.
"Moreover, based on information gathered to date by the Association, Frank's statement is inaccurate in a number of respects. While the Association will not respond specifically through the press, we are confident that, at hearing, the Panel will agree that the Commissioner's Office acted improperly when it unilaterally changed the terms of the deal it struck with the Association in 2006."
Posted
Aug 27 2008, 01:35 PM
by
Dejan Kovacevic