Former MLB GM David Samson Crying That The Royals Botched Their Service Time Manipulation By Calling Up Monster Prospect Jac Caglianone Is Everything Wrong With The Game Today

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Service time manipulation is a constant crime that's committed in the beautiful game of baseball. We've seen it happen for years as teams push aside the present just so they can save a few bucks down the road. Kris Bryant was the poster child for this back in the day with the Cubs as he didn't make the Opening Day roster just to avoid hitting free agency in 2020 rather than 2021. It's a fucking joke to see billionaire owners do whatever they can to save a nickel and sacrifice what could be a winning move, but unfortunately we see it all the time. That whole concept of putting your best team on the field does not apply to these assholes. No other sport does this shit. 

In their latest CBA agreement, the owners and players association added in a provision that rewards a team a first round pick if their player wins the Rookie of the Year AND accrues a full year of service time. This would require teams to have these prospects on their roster on Opening Day. This worked wonderfully with Julio Rodriguez in 2022 for the Mariners, as well as Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll in 2023. You can also receive these draft picks with this rule if your player places top 3 in MVP or Cy Young voting before they hit arbitration. Good, right? Giving baseball teams added incentive to have prospects begin the year with the club is the exact kind of thing we needed to stop this bullshit from happening. Yeah, not quite. Coinciding with the draft pick awarding, the CBA agreement also awarded players who finish in the top two of Rookie of the Year a full year of service time, allowing them to hit free agency quicker. Those players also don't need to be with the team the full year, as long as they finished in the top two they got the service time reward. That resulted in teams waiting all summer to call up their prospects, ensuring that they wouldn't contend for the rookie of the year. In short, the system is broken and nothing in place currently will stop this shit from happening.

If you wanted a glimpse into part of what plagues this sport, take a look at former MLB GM David Samson's outrage with the Royals not caring about service time and calling up their top prospect Jac Caglianone right now to help the team.

Everything about that clip is what's wrong with the game. Caglianone is an incredible prospect who has no business still being in the minor leagues. There is no development left for this cat and boy do the Royals need hitting. They're not a team that's going to trade for a big bat or sign a monster free agent, so sucking for years, drafting a guy of Caglianone's prowess, and promoting him to the big leagues is how they change the tides (see also Bobby Witt Jr).

We're talking BIG power from Jac. Dude makes baseball disappear into the trees. He's gonna be so much fun to watch mash for the Royals, giving them a big bat in the middle of their lineup that they so desperately need. KC is 31-29 and should remain in the wild card race all summer long. This is the kind of move that not only benefits the player in Caglianone, but also everyone in that clubhouse as the front office shows they want to win. The fans also win here, getting to watch a fun, young player burst onto the scene and hopefully become a cornerstone piece for the franchise. This is the kind of player you want to see when you pay good money to head to the ballpark. Well done by the Royals. 

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I can't say the same for the Red Sox who continue to jail top baseball prospect Roman Anthony in the minors. They have no excuse for operating the way they do with the money that franchise is worth. It's a legit crime what they're doing to that kid and Jac's promotion makes this look even worse. The Sox are in desperate need of Anthony's bat and the front office won't budge, all to avoid the player from hitting free agency a year early. 

P.S. It's worth noting that all the worry about calling up Jac early or keeping Anthony down could be avoided in the not too distant future with a contract extension that locks them up way past their arb years. If you just commit to that and being fair to the player you don't have to worry about this bullshit. 

P.P.S. I'm fully aware Samson is viewed as a joke and using him to base this blog off of is cheap, but I was just trying to prove my point and he was too easy.