The Major League Baseball Players Association faulted the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday for not calling up touted prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., saying the decision was bad for all involved.
"The union's position on service-time manipulation is clear, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and other great young talents around baseball have earned the right to play on the field for a major league team," a union spokesman told Sportsnet on Thursday. "The decision to not to bring him up is a business decision, not a baseball decision. It's bad for the Blue Jays, it's bad for fans, it's bad for players and it's bad for the industry."
Guerrero was not among the September call-ups for the Blue Jays, despite being one of baseball's top prospects while tearing up the minor leagues this season.
Asked about the decision Wednesday, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said it was not a financial one.
"It has nothing to do with business," Shapiro told SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio. "It has nothing to do with anything other than we think the best thing for him developmentally is to go play in Arizona (in the fall league there) and continue to develop.
"We think that when he gets here -- which would obviously not preclude him from making the team out of spring training next year, which would be evidence of that fact -- we think he's got a chance to be an impact player."
When the Blue Jays do call up the 19-year-old Guerrero, his major league service time begins. Thus, the quicker he's called up, the sooner he's eligible for free agency and a potentially big payday.
Guerrero was No. 2 on ESPN Insider Keith Law's midseason top 50 prospects list. He hit .402 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs in Double-A, then was promoted to Triple-A and hit .336 with six home runs and 16 RBIs in 30 games.