Boras: Keeping Kris Bryant in minors is harmful to 'ethics and brand' of MLB
Scott Boras is among those who want to see Kris Bryant open the season with the Chicago Cubs and not in Triple-A.
Despite Bryant's impressive performance this spring - the 23-year-old leads the majors with six home runs already - the Cubs are expected to option him to the minor leagues to open the season, a tactic employed to delay his eligibility for both salary arbitration and free agency.
Boras, who represents Bryant, isn't too enamored with this strategy. The outspoken agent accused team ownership Tuesday of making personnel decisions that run contrary to the best interests of the baseball team.
"You are damaging the ethics and brand of Major League Baseball,'' Boras told Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports. "Kris Bryant has extraordinary skills. Kris Bryant is a superstar. He has distinguished himself from all players at every level he's played.
"Everybody in baseball is saying he's a major-league player ready for the big leagues. I have players call me. Executives call me. The Cubs' people want him there. Everyone says, 'They cannot send this guy down.' It's too obvious.
"This isn't a system choice. This isn't a mandate. This is a flat ownership decision. Do they really want to win here?''
Boras' gripe with Cubs ownership dates back to last season when the club opted not to reward Bryant with a September call-up even though the former first-round pick led the minors with 43 home runs.
"He certainly believes he should have been in the big leagues last September,'' Boras said, "and he certainly believes that if his spring performance is among the best 25 players, he should be in the big leagues now.
"What this spring has illustrated is that he should have been in the big leagues last September. He could have gotten his seasoning then. Major League Baseball fans missed something. They missed the opportunity to see this man perform, and the Cubs missed the opportunity to get him acclimated and established for 2015.''
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein disputed Boras' allegations that ownership's financial concerns influenced the decision to keep Bryant in the minors.
"Ownership doesn't have anything to do with it,'' Epstein said. "We're making an organizational decision. And I'll be the one, as president of baseball operations, making the decision.
"You never have a second chance to promote somebody the first time. You want to make sure they're in the right place. In Kris' case, we know he's ready offensively, we just want to get him in a good rhythm defensively.