| Re: Blue Jays release Thomas after slow start to 2008 season
Also, releasing him now, waaaaaay before he reaches the plate-appearances threshold for his vesting option prevents the union from filing a grievance.
Let's say he made 375 PAs (1 short of when the option kicks in) and THEN the Jays released him. The player's association could say that they violated the collective bargaining agreement by releasing a player simply for monetary reasons. You're not allowed to do that in baseball.
By releasing him this early, if anybody says it's monetary considerations, they can say "Hey, we could have gotten another 300 PAs out of him if it was only monetary"
So, releasing him this early covers their asses |