There has been plenty of conversation about the baseballs used in MLB this season and influential agent Scott Boras added to that on Friday when he said several of his clients are dealing with finger issues due to different seams on the ball.
“A number of my clients have raised issues with the ball this year,” Boras said during an appearance on The Jeff Blair Show on Sportsnet 590 The FAN. “As to what direct changes or alteration [MLB is] going to look to for next year, I just know I’ve got a number of pitchers who have serious abrasions on their fingertips because of the use of the ball this year that did not exist in prior years.”
Pitcher Marcus Stroman was vocal about the issue earlier this season and Toronto Blue Jays teammate Aaron Sanchez, a Borus client, has seen his campaign derailed by blister problems. The 25-year-old Sanchez has been on the disabled list four times this year, limited to just eight starts and 36 innings.
“I don’t know what [MLB] has done with it,” Borus told hosts Jeff Blair and Stephen Brunt. “I know that there’s been testing [of the baseballs]. When you say testing, what measurements, what standards do they look at? When they say it’s the same, how broad is that scale?”
Sanchez is currently working his way back from the DL and could return to the Blue Jays as a reliever before the end of the season. Boras says his camp has been in communication with the team about the right-hander’s ailment all year and the two sides are on the same page. He added that this off-season, Sanchez will continue to receive treatment from a specialist and report to doctors as he works through his throwing program.
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Sanchez, who led the American League with a 3.00 ERA in 2016, is eligible for arbitration this off-season. Boras was asked how a muddled 2017 will affect the pitcher’s earning potential.
“When you discuss contracts there are a number of precedents and histories that we have to look at with players,” said Boras. “I’ve had a number of clients who’ve had instances of high-level performances earlier in their career, then they have some sort of malady in their most current season.
“This is something that’s very common to veteran and skilled negotiators both for the clubs and our staff. I’m very hopeful we can figure that out and move forward in a very patient and professional way.”
Boras became Sanchez’s agent last off-season and was critical of the Blue Jays in March for renewing the pitcher’s ’17 contract for the major-league minimum of $535,000.
