MLBPA Tells Scott Boras Paying Released MiLB Clients Would Violate Regulations

The Major League Baseball Players Association reportedly told Scott Boras his plan to pay his minor league clients who were released by their teams would be a violation of the union's rules for agents, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Those regulations state: "Any gifts or promise of gifts, of money or of any other thing with an aggregate value exceeding $500 U.S. in any calendar year, by an Expert Agent Advisor to any single player, or any persons related to or associated with such player, are prohibited."

On June 1, the MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Boras' plan to pay his minor league clients affected by the rash of cuts around baseball amid the COVID-19 pandemic hiatus:

Rosenthal reported that Boras will not be disciplined or fined by the MLBPA, which is "exploring ways to help minor leaguers but is not yet ready to reveal details, a source said."

Boras had said he didn't believe the regulations cited by the union applied to his plan, but other agents encouraged the MLBPA to push back against him.

Per Rosenthal, they said, "A refusal by the union to stop Boras from paying minor leaguers might have created openings for agents to pay players in other circumstances—in an effort to retain them as clients, for example."

That, in turn, "might have pressured other agents to pay their released minor league clients and enabled Boras to use his act of goodwill as a recruiting tool."

Instead, Boras will donate money to the nonprofit organization VoteRiders, which works to ensure that all citizens can obtain the necessary identification to vote in their state.