Agent Boras Scrutinized

Since making it big by representing players like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez ("A-Rod), competing agents have hoped for a day to catch agent Scott Boras in illegal activity. Boras has dominated the baseball market for many years, making it difficult for other agents to compete. Well now, those agents may have a chance for a little break...

Boras is now being questioned for making illegal payments to prospective players in the Dominican Republic. The NY Times reports that Boras has made payments to prospects in the Dominican that violate the Union's rules for agents. Agents are only allowed to give loans of less than $500 to prospects unless disclosed to the Union. This regulation is designed to minimize the dependence a prospect has on an agent. Boras allegedly provided players in the Dominican of upwards of $70,000!

It is unclear what punishments, if any, Boras will receive from the Union, but this activity will not go unnoticed.

Note: Boras' alleged payments to Dominican prospects are more carefully scrutinized than those made by investors and hedge funds as reported earlier this week. This is due to the additional dependency players have on the expertise of agents, as well as, the regulations agents are subject to within the confines of the Union.

When Dropping Out of High School Makes Sense

Last night, just seconds before the signing deadline, the Washington Nationals signed their first round pick Bryce Harper to a five year $9.9 million deal. (This is the second year in a row that the Nationals have signed a first round pick at the last minute. Stephen Strasburg was in that situation last year and has already become a phenom.) Harper is only 17 years old and has just received the highest paying contract for a non-pitcher coming out of the draft (that is not a free agent).

Harper has been a star in the making for years, and was even on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 16. In order to be eligible for the draft as early as possible, Harper chose to drop out of high-school (though he got his GED) and enter junior college. According to MLB rules, a player is eligible for the draft if he has graduated from high school and has not yet entered college or junior college, or if he has entered junior college. (A player may also be drafted from a regular four year college, but only if he is 21 years of age and has completed his junior year.) So, Harper therefore avoided waiting until high school graduation to enter the draft and got the benefit of some junior college experience.

Yes, these MLB rules are ridiculous, but Harper, and his agent Scott Boras, made them work. As a 17 year old Harper is now a multi-millionaire and will have to find a cool teenage way to spend that kind of dough.