Service time manipulation
In Major League Baseball, service time manipulation refers to tactics that baseball team executives employ to avoid free agency and salary arbitration.
Service time
For purposes of salary arbitration and free agency, a player acquires a year of service time if the player remains on the major league roster for at least 172 days of a typical 182-day season. Players may either be active, in which they are eligible to play in games, or on the injured list (IL), formerly known as the disabled list. If a player is on the major league roster for 171 or fewer days, they do not earn a year of service time, and partial years cannot be combined.[1] Six years of service time is a key metric for eligibility for free agency.
Examples
George Springer, prior to his major-league debut in the 2014 season, had turned down a seven-year, $23 million contract offer from the Houston Astros. Instead of being on the active roster, the Astros demoted Springer to the minors for the season's first 14 games. A writer for CBS Sports described the move as service time manipulation and as a reprisal for accepting the contract offer.[1]
Kris Bryant, prior to the 2015 Chicago Cubs season, was assigned to the Cubs' AAA affiliate to work on his defense, despite putting up impressive offensive numbers in the minor leagues. Seven games into the major league season, the Cubs promoted Bryant, who remained on the roster for the remaining 171 days of the season. This made Bryant ineligible to earn a year of service time.[1] Bryant filed a grievance against the Cubs, but an arbitrator ruled that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) did not prove that the Cubs manipulated Bryant's service time.[2]
- ^ a b c Perry, Dayn (March 2, 2021). "MLB service-time manipulation: Why longstanding baseball practice is a major issue in 2021". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ Blum, Ronald (February 4, 2020). "Arbitrator rules union didn't prove Bryant case vs Cubs". Associated Press. Retrieved May 11, 2022.