from Amazon
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Delaying JJ’s service clock
Rally said something interesting, in light of JJ Hardy being sent down:
He had 4 years of service exactly coming into 2009, so he would have been a free agent after the 2010 season. Looks like this will delay his free agency until after 2011, so if he rebounds to his excellent 2007-2008 level, he’s got a lot more trade value.
Yowza. A service year is 172 days. An MLB season has around 183 service days (and weirdly, the playoffs I don’t think even counts). So, if JJ is kept in the minor leagues until the minor league season is over, he could end up this year with only 171 service days. That would then keep him as a 4+ player this year.