The Alvarez debacle affects other teams, too. Get ready to get mad, Royals fans.
Royals Corner sources have confirmed that Hosmer did not dress for Thursday night’s game, and that it was indeed directly related to the situation Alvarez and the Pirates. All parties involved are reportedly tight-lipped about the situation, and we still do not know whether Hosmer’s exclusion from the lineup came at the request of Boras, minor league baseball, or Hosmer himself, but we understand that he isn’t likely to suit up again until baseball resolves the impasse.
(I don't know much about this source, so take this with a grain of salt for now, although this news doesn't surprise me at all.)
Hosmer's contract may be in even greater jeopardy than Alvarez's, even though I've seen no indications that anyone is unhappy with it. Baseball America reported earlier this week that Hosmer's contract was signed after the deadline; no one has definitively reported that Alvarez's was. It now appears he'll have to sit out until the end of the minor league season.
Again: will Julio Borbon, who's playing at AA for the Rangers and is supposed to play in the Arizona Fall League, have to sit out too? If not, why not? He was drafted in 2007, signed after the deadline, and given a major league contract. The union has clearer standing to dispute major league contracts than minor league ones like Alvarez's.
This situation doesn't affect only Alvarez. It also affects other players who supposedly broke the rule. If Scott Boras wants a confrontation, his other clients should have to deal with it too, especially since the cases against the commissioner's office are much stronger in those cases.
Thanks to Primer.
UPDATE: The Post-Gazette reports that the union will focus on Alvarez, not Hosmer, with the union contending that an agreement was in place before the deadline. That contradicts Baseball America's reporting, which specifically said that the Royals were granted an extension to "reach a deal" with Hosmer. If I were the Pirates, I'd be mentioning Hosmer over and over and over.
UPDATE: Yep, Hosmer's out until the matter is resolved. The Kansas City Star reports.