Third basemen Maikel Franco and Kris Bryant have filed grievances against their respective teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, for being "kept in the minor leagues unnecessarily" and having their service time manipulated "to delay future free agency," according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Passan writes:
Potential service-time manipulation looms as a significant issue with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association ramping up discussions on a new collective-bargaining agreement after the current one expires Dec. 1, 2016. While neither case has yet to reach an arbitration panel, according to sources, the grievances indicate that players believe teams have not abided by the intention of service-time rules and operated in bad faith.
Bryant was sent to Triple-A last season after leading all of Major League Baseball with nine spring training home runs. He was not recalled until April 17, which assured he would finish the season one day shy of the 172-day full-year service time.
Franco finished the season with 170 days of service. After debuting in September 2014, he started the 2015 season at Triple-A and was not recalled until May 15, the start of a three-game home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bryant's grievance was reportedly filed in April, whereas Franco's was submitted "later," according to Passan.
Franco ranked second for National League rookies in slugging percentage (.497), fifth in batting average (.280) and seventh in doubles (22) and home runs (14). Following the season, Bryant was named the NL Rookie of the Year after leading all MLB rookies in home runs (26) and runs batted in (99).
Phillies general manager Matt Klentak, Cubs president Theo Epstein, as well as Bryant and Franco's agent Scott Boras all declined to comment to Yahoo Sports regarding the filing.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
