And gee, what a shock that would be. The team was at odds with Scott Boras over his client, JD Drew, opting out of his Dodgers contract, and hasn't dealt with him much since then. That is, until now potentially. Boras is reportedly upset with the team for demoting Tony Abreu to the minors when Abreu incurred an abdominal injury. Boras would've preferred the team simply placed him on the DL.By being put on the disabled list Abreu would continue to draw a big league salary and accrue major league service time, becoming eligible for arbitration and free agency earlier.This is certainly a valid complaint for any player and agent to have -- they obviously don't want to get stiffed when it comes to money. And of course all teams will protect their interests at all times by keeping that service time clock from ticking. I'm guessing Boras would have a strong case to make against the team if it came down to that. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been using the slugging Ramon Martinez in a role Abreu most likely could have filled. Seems pretty fishy to me.
A similar dispute between the Marlins and pitcher Anibal Sanchez led to a grievance's being filed by the players' union on behalf of Sanchez, who says he was demoted to the minors despite a shoulder problem that led to season-ending surgery in June. The demotion is costing Sanchez more than $1,400 a day in salary, said union attorney Jeff Fannell, who also said demoting an injured player is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement between baseball and the players' union.
Previously at FanHouse:
Did the Red Sox Tamper With JD Drew
