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Trea Turner's agent may file grievance to free client from Padres
The trades have been coming so fast and so furiously since last week's Winter Meetings that it's difficult to fully digest and sort out everything that has happened. One trade in particular though, the three-team 11-player deal involving the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals, has proven so complex, that it will literally take months to sort out, and that has one agent seeking a faster resolution.
Trea Turner, the 13th overall pick by San Diego during the 2014 draft, was not so secretly included in that deal. Eventually, he'll be moving to the Washington Nationals as their shortstop of the future. However, due to what's known around MLB as the Pete Incaviglia rule — aka Major-League Rule 3(B)(6) — Turner's name doesn't appear on the paperwork.
Per the rule, which most are in agreement has outlasted its usefulness, a drafted player cannot officially be traded for a year after signing. In Turner's case, he's not eligible to be traded until June 13, 2015. So for the next six months, he'll officially be known as "the player to be named later" and he'll also have to remain in the Padres system.
This isn't the first time teams have worked around the rule with the "player to be named later" tag. It is, however, uncommon for a player to wait this long or enter a season knowing he'll be changing addresses on a certain date. Case in point, back in 2011 when the Colorado Rockies acquired Drew Pomeranz at the trade deadline in the Ubaldo Jimenez deal, Pomeranz couldn't come over until Aug. 17. That was only a two week wait, and the Cleveland Indians simply shut him down in the meantime.
The circumstances are unique and a bit complicated here given that Turner is a position player who needs repetition. Complicated enough that Turner's agent may file a grievance to free his client from the unnecessary layover.
Here's more from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, who went in-depth on this story Friday.
No, and Turner’s agent, Jeff Berry of CAA, told FOX Sports on Friday night that he “will vigorously pursue all available courses of action to remedy this situation,” including a possible grievance in conjunction with the players’ union.
Berry said that it was “unconscionable” that Turner must stay with an organization that already has traded him and “has zero concern, motivation or interest in his health, development or performance.”
The trading parties were fully aware of the rule, which might help explain the 24-hour hang up between the time it was agreed upon until it was officially announced. Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo seemed to indirectly confirm that on Friday.
“It’s a deal that was fairly complicated,” Rizzo said. “It’s something that has not been done many times in the history of baseball and something we really had to think through.”
Rizzo added that the teams are “going to trust each other and do what’s right by the player.” But understandably those words haven't smoothed over concerns within the Turner camp.
Regardless of the sham press releases being put out by teams, there is no Player to be Named, there is only the player already named, and that player is Trea Turner,” Berry said.
“Trea is one of the top prospects in baseball and on a fast track to the Major Leagues,” Berry said. “In this case, the plan to ‘trust us’ is not enough when it comes to a player's well-being and career.
“Given the circumstances and the undoubtedly negative impact on Trea Turner, for the teams involved and Major League Baseball to endorse and approve this trade is not only unethical, but also goes against the very spirit of the Minor League Uniform Player Contract that players sign when they first enter professional baseball. That contract requires a player to ‘serve the club diligently and faithfully.’ Shouldn’t the clubs and the controlling parties at Major League Baseball be held to the same standard?”
Rosenthal notes that the league is on board to revisit the rule, though there's been no real urgency to do so recently. That might change now that Berry and the union figure to take a stand. A resolution of some sort before spring training would seem most ideal for everybody.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
